Joy in Doing Things at Which You Don't Excel

 I’ve found great joy in doing things poorly.  I’m not talking about intentionally doing things poorly, or in doing things sloppily. That’s not what I mean at all.  What I mean is that, in the recent months, in my interactions with people, it has become increasingly obvious to me that many people seem to shy away from activities they enjoy because they can’t do them well.

Now, of course there’s a time when you need to do things well. At work for example, I need to do my job well, very well.  I strive to do just that and I would say that usually I succeed.  The same holds true of educating my children.  I’m a home educator so this is particularly important.  If  I drop the ball I could ruin my kids’ hopes for a good future.  Of course I do this to the best of my ability and given how I have one kid who successfully completed university, three more currently enrolled, all with various levels of academic scholarships, and one still in high school who has already made A’s in two community college classes, I’d say I do at least relatively well as a home educator.

No, I’m talking about the activities we do in our free time to improve ourselves or enjoy our lives.  I have a lot of outside interests.  I love to try new things.  I realized just last night when talking with some acquaintances that they thought that since I did all of this stuff that I was actually good at it.  Nothing could be farther from the truth!  For example, I”ve been training jiu-jitsu for years.  Am I very good?  No, not really.  Am I a great deal better than when I started years ago– absolutely!    I advance much more slowly than anyone I began lessons with years ago, but I don’t let that drag me down.  I keep plugging along.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and I can most definitely say I”m a great deal better than when I started.

Do I like writing funny song parodies for certain occasions and putting them online?  Yes!  It’s a blast.  Am I vocally talented?  Absolutely not.  However, if I can make someone else smile, it’s all worth it and I have great fun. 

It’s okay to try new things and do them poorly.  It’s okay to enjoy drawing, singing, knife-throwing, etc., just for yourself. You don’t have to do things well to enjoy them. Get out of your comfort zone and try something new just to try it.  If you’re terrible, but you enjoy it, keep at it anyway.  Have fun today.