Introduction
I'm going to let you in on a secret.
The secret is this: being bad at something is the first step to being good at something.
I get it, though. At first, that sounds like an excuse for mediocrity and failure. In fact, I've said those two words myself plenty of times — "mediocre" and "failure." Maybe we can go back a few years when I was trying to write songs or poems or short stories: "This sucks!" or "This is terrible!" But as I kept going, I realized something important: creating anything worthwhile takes time. It takes failing over and over again until you eventually figure out what works for you. And once you start accepting that being bad at something might actually be beneficial for your overall growth as an artist (or whatever field), things really start getting interesting!
Stop worrying about what others think.
It's easy to worry about what other people think of you, especially when you're trying something new. It's not just a matter of worrying about how others see you; sometimes, it's also because they think they know better. You'll meet people who tell you that being bad at something is wrong and should be avoided at all costs.
But I'm here to tell you otherwise: being bad at something is actually what leads to getting good at it! The only way to get better at anything is by having the courage to try it in the first place—and if there are any barriers preventing someone from trying something new, those barriers need breaking down so that everyone has an equal chance of success.
Only compare yourself to the past you.
The first step toward learning something new is to think about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how you can do it better. It may seem obvious, but comparing yourself to others is the quickest way to stifle improvement and make yourself feel bad about yourself.
Don’t compare your progress with the progress of others
Don't compare your progress with your expectations
Don't compare what you did yesterday or last week or even last year with today's effort—just focus on keeping going forward
Don't let "not being good enough" become an excuse not to keep going.
I want to keep going.
I've learned, over the years and through many mistakes, that failing at something is an important part of learning how to do it well. I have a lot of friends who have been paralyzed by self-doubt because they feel like they're not good enough or experienced enough or smart enough. It's easy to write off new things as impossible when you don't understand them—but it's also possible that if you try and fail, the next time could be even more successful! You might surprise yourself with what you know once you start messing around with a problem in real life for yourself.
I find that asking for help is one of the best ways to get over this fear of failure—it can be really scary and embarrassing when someone else sees how bad your work is (and yes, sometimes they will), but being honest about knowing less than someone else has helped me develop confidence in my abilities as well as others'. If there are people who are better than me at something that I'm trying, then there must be other people who aren't nearly as good! We all have different strengths and weaknesses; instead of seeing those differences as reasons why we shouldn't try things out in the first place (like "I'm not smart enough"), maybe it would be better if we could celebrate them instead (like "Wow! This person knows so much about programming!).
Don't be afraid to build a new comfort zone.
It’s easy to be afraid of doing something new and not being good at it. This fear can hold you back from trying new things and learning how to do them better, which can prevent you from reaching your full potential.
If you want to get good at something, then it's important that you try things that are outside of your comfort zone. You'll still probably be bad at these things when you first start out, but eventually they will get easier for you and then become easier for everyone else too. If everyone stays within their comfort zones all the time, nothing would ever change!
Before I was able to run a marathon or swim across an ocean (both of which I've done now), my body only knew how to run around my house or walk on land—it had never been forced into doing anything else before those times came along in my life where I needed it do those things so badly that there was no other option than going through with them anyways even though they were scary as heck because who wants their lungs filled with water while swimming 200 meters? Nope nope nope nope nope...
Being bad at something is uncomfortable, but it's how you keep growing.
It's okay to feel bad about the things you're not good at. It's even better to feel bad than it is to stay there.
A lot of people stop learning after they hit a plateau or burn out, but for those who keep going, something beautiful happens: You get better! You stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone. You develop new skills and perspectives that can be used in other areas of your life. The more you push yourself into uncomfortable territory, the more capable you become—and that capacity carries over into so many other areas of life besides just one thing.
Conclusion
If you're struggling with your craft, I hope you find some comfort in knowing that being bad at something is the first step to being good at it. It may seem counterintuitive at first, but practice makes perfect and all that jazz. As long as you keep trying—and not giving up—you'll eventually get there!
Disclaimer
this post has entirely been written by OpenAI's human-like text generation AI GPT-3 🤖 😁
I'm surprised at how good it came out, considering I only gave the title as prompt ("Being bad at something is the first step to being good at something").
Also considering generative AI is really just starting!
