Eating Your Vegetables

Build skills through repeated exposure, not natural affinity—10-12 tries before you know if you like something

Ada Chen Rekhi
Feeling stuck? Here's how to know when it's time to leave your job | Ada Chen Rekhi

Eating Your Vegetables

"Little kids don't really develop an appreciation for vegetables until they're 10 or 12 exposures in. So the researchers say, expose kids to vegetables 10 or 12 times, even if they don't like it, because that's what it takes to get someone to like something." - Ada Chen Rekhi

What It Is

"Eating Your Vegetables" is a framework for skill development based on research about how children develop taste preferences. The core insight: you need 10-12 exposures to something before you can distinguish between "I dislike this because I'm bad at it/new to it" and "I genuinely dislike this."

This matters because many important career skills feel uncomfortable at first. If you quit after one or two attempts, you'll never know if you could have developed genuine competence—and even enjoyment.

How It Works

The Problem

When you try something new:

  • The first time, you're bad at it
  • Being bad at something feels uncomfortable
  • Discomfort feels like "I don't like this"
  • You quit before developing actual skill

But this discomfort might just be newness, not genuine dislike.

The Solution

Commit to 10-12 attempts before deciding you don't like something. This separates:

  • Initial discomfort (normal, temporary) from
  • Genuine dislike (persistent, informed)

Ada's Networking Example

When Ada moved to Silicon Valley, she was "really awkward and not very good at networking." Rather than avoid it, she created a system:

The Rules:

  1. Go out once a week for a couple months
  2. Count out 10 business cards
  3. Hand out all 10 by introducing yourself to new people
  4. Touch the back wall of the venue
  5. Then you can leave

The Results:

  • First few weeks: "horrible, really awful"
  • After repeated exposure: much easier
  • Started recognizing faces, which made breaking in easier
  • Got better at introductions and working a room
  • Those early relationships became foundational to her network

She would never have known she could be good at networking if she'd stopped after the first uncomfortable attempt.

How to Apply It

  1. Identify important skills you avoid - What feels uncomfortable but would help your career?

  2. Create a commitment structure

    • LinkedIn 30: Post daily for 30 days
    • DM practice: Reach out to 10 interesting people
    • Networking rules: X events, Y conversations, physical constraints

  3. Make it binary - Clear rules with no wiggle room (touch the back wall, hand out all 10 cards)

  4. Track attempts, not results - The goal is exposure, not immediate success

  5. Evaluate after 10-12 tries - Only then decide if this truly isn't for you

Other Examples

Content Creation:

  • 75-80% of podcasts never make it past episode one
  • Commit to 10-12 episodes before evaluating
  • The first ones will be bad—that's expected

DM Outreach:

  • Instead of one failed outreach leading to "I'm never doing that again"
  • Commit to reaching out to 10-12 people
  • Look for patterns in what works

LinkedIn Posting:

  • 30 consecutive days of posting
  • See what resonates over time
  • Build the habit before evaluating

When to Use It

  • Learning new skills - Especially ones that feel awkward or uncomfortable
  • Content creation - Podcasts, writing, video—all feel terrible at first
  • Networking - Meeting new people, building relationships
  • Public speaking - Most people hate it until they've done it many times
  • Any skill you've tried once and "didn't like"

The Trap to Avoid

Don't confuse discomfort with dislike. Many of your most valuable skills will feel bad at first. The question isn't "did that feel good?" but "have I given this enough attempts to know?"

Tips for Success

  1. Make it lightweight - Small commitments, not heroic efforts
  2. Write for an audience of one - Imagine talking to a friend, not performing for crowds
  3. Focus on the process, not outcomes - Attempts matter more than results early on
  4. Look for compound effects - Networking gets easier as you know more people; writing gets easier as you develop voice

Source

  • Guest: Ada Chen Rekhi
  • Episode: "Feeling stuck? Here's how to know when it's time to leave your job | Ada Chen Rekhi"
  • Key Discussion: (01:00:30) - Full explanation of eating your vegetables with networking example
  • YouTube: Watch on YouTube

Related Frameworks

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