You know those people who are good at, like, everything? We all know someone who seems like a master at everything they touch. They’re always trying something new and magically excelling at it.
While I’m definitely not one of those people, I continue to try new things even if I’m bad at them. W (full story below)
You know those people who are good at, like, everything? We all know someone who seems like a master at everything they touch. They’re always trying something new and magically excelling at it.
While I’m definitely not one of those people, I continue to try new things even if I’m bad at them. Why? Because I enjoy it, and I get better with every attempt.
Just because you give something new a try and mess it up doesn’t mean you should quit. It means you should keep going and enjoy the process no matter the outcome.
Recently, I had a paint night with a friend.
We watched Rugrats, ate burritos, and painted while we caught up on each other’s lives. It was a ton of fun and I wanted to keep doing it for hours. The only catch was, I suck at painting.
I thought going for the abstract look would be my best bet for making something halfway descent, but I just ended up with a mess.
While my friend was nice enough to lie and say it was great, I have eyes. I know it’s definitely not going to make people tell me I’m amazing and should become an artist–but that’s okay, because I enjoyed making it. Not everything we do has to win some prize or get recognition. It’s okay to do things we suck at just for the love of the process.
No, I didn’t love not knowing brush techniques or what colors should go where, but our laughter and Rugrats playing in the background was awesome, which is what matters. It’s the journey, not the destination, that’s important. Always make that the focus.
You never know, after a while the “destination” may really improve as you work your way there.
The second paint night we had, I decided to be a little more gutsy and decided to paint the Grand Rapids skyline. Honestly? I don’t think it’s too bad for my second time ever painting.
I mean, it looks like what I was going for, and while I definitely won’t be entering it into Art Prize, I’m proud of it. It looks like what I imagined and it’s the first time I painted something I didn’t laugh at.
Keep doing things you’re bad at, be positive throughout the process, and eventually you may get pretty good at it.
I’m definitely no artist now, but I’m better than I was–and that’s all that matters.
Never let failure keep you from future failure. If you fail now, keep failing until you finally nail it. No one gets better at anything unless they keep persevering. Go into every new thing with the intention of having a good time rather than “winning,” and you’ll never feel like you failed.
You can’t really be bad at anything that makes you happy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amira Selimovic
Amira Selimovic is a Criminal Justice major at Grand Valley State University. When not studying and being a super student, she loves to write as much as possible and currently contributes to a number of college-related blogs.
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