Learning Sucks (And That's Okay): One Analyst's Story

Learning Sucks (And That's Okay): One Analyst's Story

Learning sucks. Not the casual kind of learning—like picking up a new keyboard shortcut—but the real kind.

The kind where you're so far out of your comfort zone that you start questioning your life choices.

Let me tell you my Rubik's cube story, because it taught me something essential about how real learning actually works.

The Setup: A Company All-Hands Meeting in 2010

Back in 2010, I was working at a company that loved creative team-building exercises.

At one all-hands meeting, we were handed raffle tickets. The prize? Solve a Rubik's cube before the meeting ends and win $500. Or play it safe and take a $50 gift card instead.

My number got called.

I'd never solved a Rubik's cube in my life. I didn't even know where to start.

I asked for the $50.

The Moment That Changed Everything

My entire team looked at me with disappointment. My boss's expression? Pure disgust. Not anger—disgust.

Like I'd just turned down a completely reasonable challenge out of pure laziness.

So I changed my mind. "Forget the gift card. Bring me the cube."

The Public Failure

45 minutes later, in front of 100 colleagues, I held up my unsolved cube.

I failed. Publicly. Embarrassingly.

They gave me $100 for trying, which somehow felt worse than just taking the $50 would have. Pity money.

But I asked for something else: the cube itself.

I told everyone that by Monday morning, I'd be able to solve it in front of whoever wanted to watch.

The Weekend From Hell

I practiced obsessively all weekend.

Patterns, algorithms, techniques. YouTube tutorials. Printouts on the kitchen table. I drove my wife absolutely crazy.

The first few hours were brutal. Nothing made sense. I kept messing up sequences and having to start over.

But gradually, the patterns started clicking. Muscle memory developed. What took 30 minutes on Saturday morning took 5 minutes by Sunday night.

Monday Morning

I walked back into the office and demonstrated for anyone who would watch.

Under 10 minutes. Multiple times.

That feeling—going from public embarrassment to competence in 72 hours—was addictive.

The Point

That embarrassed, frustrated feeling while failing at the cube? It's the exact same feeling I get whenever I'm truly learning something new in analytics.

When I first learned Python after years of Excel? That feeling.

When I tried to wrap my head around machine learning concepts? That feeling.

When I'm working on something genuinely new and difficult? That feeling.

I've trained myself to recognize when I haven't felt that way in a while. It means I'm getting complacent. I'm staying in my comfort zone. I'm not growing.

Real Learning Is Uncomfortable

If you're learning data analytics and it feels frustrating, overwhelming, like maybe you're not cut out for this—that's not a sign you should quit.

That's a sign you're actually learning.

The discomfort is the point. Your brain is forming new neural pathways. You're doing something your brain hasn't done before. Of course it's uncomfortable.

The analysts who succeed aren't the ones who find it easy. They're the ones who push through when it's hard.

My Challenge to You

Find something that intimidates you. A programming concept you don't understand. A statistical method that seems impossibly complex. A tool you've been avoiding.

Give yourself a weekend. Embrace the suck. See what happens.

You might surprise yourself.

Common Questions About Learning Data Analytics

Q: How long does it take to get good at data analytics?

Depends on your definition of "good." Competent enough for an entry-level role? 6-12 months of deliberate practice. Confident and independent? 2-3 years. Truly expert? A decade. The learning never really stops.

Q: What if I keep hitting the same wall over and over?

Change your approach. Different learning style, different resource, different project. Sometimes the problem isn't you—it's that the explanation doesn't match how your brain processes information.

Q: Is there an age limit for learning analytics?

No. I've trained analysts in their 50s who picked it up just fine. The challenge isn't age—it's willingness to embrace being a beginner again.