Let Yourself Be Bad At It
Here’s a short scene for you. Feel free to hum along, if it’s familiar:
“I haven’t started that new thing yet.”
“Why is that?”
“I dunno. Just not ready to be bad at something new. I’m already bad at so many things, including the things I say I’m good at / expert in.”
“Impostor stuff?”
“Yeah, sort of, I guess.”
“So, the way you see it is, if you’re doing something, that means you must excel in it, at all times. Flawless. Right?”
“When you say it like that, it sounds over the top, but yeah.”
“Do you hold other people to that standard?”
“Well, not really. I mean it’s unrealistic. You have to start somewhere.”
Pause.
“Oh. So I could permit myself to try the new thing I want to experiment with, and that might be okay, mess and all.”
“I mean, how do you get good at something otherwise? Or even mediocre.”
“Oh.”
Ever have one of those conversations with yourself?
I do, all the time. My friends and coaching clients do, too. Do you?
Embrace the mess
It takes repetition to learn to trust the process. To trust that – time permitting – you might even embrace the mess, accept uncertainty, expand into not-knowing, allow yourself a guarantee-free creative adventure. Who knows, along the way you might get better at that new thing you’re trying.
Recovering overachievers, unite. Or not. It’s all up to you. Every day.
How do you coach yourself when you need a reminder – when you’re trying something new, and need to permit yourself to be bad at it? I’d love to know.
Luna Project update
The ninth full moon, on 28 August, saw the release of my music and video for Moon When All Things Ripen. Harvest Moon comes next, on Saturday 26 September. Visit this webpage and my YouTube channel for each new addition to Luna Project.
Thanks for reading!
~ Anne