Being bad at things

published on: 2022-03-09

Right now, I'm bad at writing (or at least, I think I am). It's not too surprising; I haven't practiced it all that much yet. Part of my motivation for writing about my weight loss and journaling is to practice writing. But people don't get good at things right away - it takes a lot of deliberate practice to get there.

So I am just allowing myself to be bad at it for now. I'm writing my thoughts even though I probably won't be too satisfied yet - my taste currently exceeds my skills. I'm doing my best, but I'm also not stressing about this situation. I'll be here a while, so I might as well get used to it!

Another example is working out. I have now been doing it consistently for approximately 6 months. It feels like a really long time to me. I've done a bunch of bench press, squat, and deadlift at this point. However, according to experts like Jeff Nippard, you're a "beginner" for at least 2 years.

Depressing or motivating, you choose

You could let the fact that you have so far to go get you down, or you could just get used to this situation.

It's part of the journey! I'm trying to have fun adding small bits of difficulty here and there (a few extra reps, a few extra pounds, slightly more precise tracking). I'm putting the ultimate goal out of my mind, and focusing on small steady improvements.

This is life, get used to it

The key is not to be too impatient to get out of this spot - it feels great to be an expert, but you can't get there without a volume of work.

Many people's problem is that they are too intense at first, which makes them absolutely miserable. It's no wonder people give up - imagine being miserable for 2 years and still being a beginner at working out!

Therefore, find ways of keeping up with it for the long term. If that means easing off the gas a little for a while, that may be worth it. You can always choose to increase the intensity again later. The key is not to quit, and someone who succeeds slowly is still someone who succeeds.