I used to want to be perfect. I used to think in order to be successful you had to be able to do something really well. That I could only be “one thing” so to speak. Then I took a giant leap and moved across the country by myself. And these past couple years in Colorado have seriously challenged and changed that way of thinking.
If you’re never bad at something then that means you’re not trying new things or venturing outside your comfort zone. And why stay in a box? When we were little kids we used to be told “you can be anything you want”. But at some point along the way, we stopped believing that. I’m not just talking about what you do for a living. Goodness knows when I was a little kid I wasn’t dreaming of sitting in a claims center. I mean outside of that- in real life. Running, or hiking, being an artist, a writer, maybe being someone who can do awesome latte art.
I’ve tried so many new things over the last 4 years, which means I’ve gotten to be bad at a lot of things. I’m a below average runner, a slow AF hiker, a slightly okay cook (of vegan and non vegan food), a half way decent gym goer, a mediocre writer, a slightly knowledgeable wellness junkie, a laughable yogi, an amateur dog trainer, and an unexceptional make up/skin care connoisseur. But at the same time….I am all of these things. I can claim them all as parts of myself. I’m slowly getting better at each one, but wow….is it ever slowly.
The second part of this learning process was realizing just because I was one thing, doesn’t mean I couldn’t be part something else. Its okay to be hard and be feminine, to be soft and strong, to like makeup and getting sweaty and dirty outside, to be a badass that cries sometimes, to love sweatpants as much as dressing up. Being multifaceted is beautiful.
Don’t get me wrong none of this is easy. There are moments of extreme frustration. Times where I’ve thought “I’ll never be as fast as…”, “I’ll never be able to lift that much…”, “I’ll never be able to blend my eye shadow as well as…” etc. Thought what’s the point because there will always be someone who is better than I am. But then I think about all the moments I’ve experienced and people I’ve met because I was willing to be bad at something. And I get back to running my 11 minute miles, lifting by 15lbs dumbbell, dying on a 14er, falling out of tree pose, redoing my eyeliner, or writing the blog post. Because now, being stuck in a box is scarier than being “bad”.
I love this so much. I think is something we all struggle with. Sometimes its so hard to step out of the box and try something when you start comparing yourself to others. You are such an amazing human. You inspire me every day!
In your words I find my state of mind and I think and inspire myself and I believe that everything can improve and can change.
Yes! I know I am bad at cooking, but that’s okay. Plus jogging, but I hate to do it and only do it so I can fit into my pants. So I really don’t care when people pass me.
I absolutely love this! I agree that it is totally fine to be bad at things. I am bad at a lot of things, but I like to try to get better at them and try new things.
This is a great post, I agree that it is okay to not be great at everything all the time, and learning this will help us grow!
~xo Sheree
poshclassymom.com
I love this. I think if we are so successful at every single they we do, we never learn anything. Some of the races and runs I’ve failed at, are the ones I’ve learned the most at.
I love the way you look at this. You cant succeed unless you try and it is ok to be bad
I think that focusing too much on being successful can really stress us out at times. It’s good when we are not good at something, as we don’t lose all of the possible goals we could set ourselves in the future. 🙂
What stuck with me the most about this post is what you said here: “Its okay to be hard and be feminine, to be soft and strong, to like makeup and getting sweaty and dirty outside, to be a badass that cries sometimes, to love sweatpants as much as dressing up.”
Wow! I am really glad that I was read this post. You have good points and stunning photos!
Samantha, thanks so much for writing this post. I now need to sit down and write a list of things that I am bad at so that I can make sure that I am definitely out of that box. As a child I got so many awards for being the ‘best all rounder. Looking back it probably meant I was not particularly good at one thing, maybe I just need to focus. Haha!
I can identify with this so much. My husband is good at everything, I always joke everything he touches turns to gold. I am the exact opposite, there is nothing I’m truly great at and after being married for 8 years I’m starting to realize I may not be great at things but I’m okayish enough.
I can relate to this we are in the middle of our big move. its been a while we are planning to love to a place were we can do more traveling and work on a job that we both love. And it is happening very soon sometime you have to set a side you fear and go for the big change.
First of all, I have to say — you are NOT a mediocre writer. You write beautifully (and I write for a living so trust me, I’m critical!). But about your story, you’re absolutely right, if you’re not bad at anything, you’re trying to push your boundaries. Here’s to experimentation.
I think failure is success in disguise. Making mistakes is totally fine. As long as you are finding a way to correct it.
Being bad at something actually means that you are trying. I totally agree with you. Being bad at something is fine, but it depends to how are you gonna respond to it.
I agree with you , being bad is not actually means bad since we are trying hard to achieve that that is most important according to me. Nobody is perfect everybody has their own weakness, overcome that is needed.
Whatever you want to be you have to be true to yourself. And yes, you can be so many good things at the same time. And it’s ok to be bad at some things too.
This is such an important thing to remember. No one is perfect. It’s what makes us human. If we try to strive to be good at everything, we might just end up being bad at everything. Thanks for this!
This post is great! There is so much beauty in imperfection. Thanks for sharingl