Be Brave Enough To Suck At Something New

As I was scrolling through social media, I read this quote: “Be brave enough to suck at something new.” It really stuck with me for the rest of the day. It’s one simple sentence, but it is so powerful, and that’s what I love about words. They come and make you feel things, change your perspective, and often serve as a wake up call. And the reason this simple line I read today stuck with me is because it is something I think we all need to read over and over again until it becomes a lullaby that’s carved deep down into our core.

Nobody wants to actually face the fact that they suck because we often link our performance to our worth. We don’t want to feel worthless. We want to feel like we matter and belong and definitely do not suck at what we do. I certainly panic and cringe at the thought of failure more than I would like to admit.

But here’s the thing: It often paralyzes me. It makes me stuck and unable to move forward in life. I know where this comes from. I want to belong to the list of people who are admired for their talent, hard work, and skill. Yet that’s not always going to be the case, and I am slowly trying to accept that. I can also be the clown, the one they point to as a negative example of what not to do.

I think our fear of sucking at something new comes from our hyper-awareness of how competitive this world is and how there is always going to be someone so much better than you, but It is a fact of life.

However, being brave grants you so much more than not trying. It means you’re living and growing and exploring. Sucking at something new means you have the guts to try and to look failure in the face like it is the greatest gift, because how can you improve without learning from your mistakes, without failing first? A baby who tries to walk and falls 100 times doesn’t say, “Walking isn’t for me—I’ll quit.” They’re so eager to walk that they don’t care if they fall.

The desire to be perfect right away is a failure in itself. It’s a toxic expectation that limits you from even starting and from possibly one day having the chance to say that you earned whatever you strived for. The truth is, I failed many times in so many things, and realizing that is not a walk in the park, but I am also still learning, and as long as I have the resources to learn, I will use them as a tool to improve.

I have realized that being brave earns you self-respect from the world and yourself. So many people around the world have proved to us that their success is something that was fueled by so many mistakes and the lessons they learned from them.

So that’s my reminder for you today. Be brave enough to suck at something new, because that’s where the magic happens. Because maybe you’re not going to suck after all.