The Benefits of Being Observant When You Take Up a New Hobby

One of the most interesting ways of learning new things is observing. However, it seems a lot of people prefer to learn through trial and error rather than observing first in order to convey the information and execute it properly. But all that is just a matter of personal preference. I, however, like to do things differently. Being an avid gamer has taught me about the benefits of observing and learning through other people’s mistakes.

Whether that includes watching replays on YouTube, streams, reading guides and theory crafting, in one way or another, observing makes me a better player from the get-go. The main thing is, I don’t play games to have fun, I play to win. I don’t see the point in sitting in front of a computer for hours on end and being unable to pass a level or a boss. While people enjoy trying out different things in games and learn their way through the difficulties, I’d rather just get it over with.

The old saying “monkey see, monkey do” is what comes to mind when I think about the observation learning method, but in my opinion, it’s slightly different than that. You take all of the information and process it in order to get the best possible outcome. You don’t simply replicate what you see, like monkeys do, I suppose.

I recently picked up on fishing and my first trip was quite a success thanks to the observation learning method. I watched fishing TV shows for days, and it all paid out. I don’t think I could have stood on the shore for more than 15 minutes without catching anything. However, the knowledge I got from fishing TV shows, online articles and forums is priceless, so I went home with a net full of fish. Yay.

There’s so much you can learn online – from buying the right equipment (quality, yet inexpensive), to different fishing techniques, fish patterns and fish specific baits. The truth is, with the power of observation you can become better than many people who have fished longer than you.

However, what’s important to understand, is that in order to improve yourself you have to keep learning. True, you have learned a couple of things by observing, watching shows and reading, but you still need to go out there to practice in order to get on top of the game. And remember, everything is more fun when you’re winning!