The Good Thing About Being Bad
I love derby, but I am bad at it. And that is part of the point for me. I try to always have something that I am doing in my life that I am bad at. It is good for me. I have tried to explain this to a few people lately, and I think I am getting closer to a way to explain why I want to always suck at something in my life.
- Being bad at something with grace is a really valuable skill, I am not there yet, but I am closer for the practice. When you know you are not good it is so very easy to become defensive and snap at people who are trying to help you. Accepting help with grace is a serious challenge and it is hardest when you need it most.
- Being kind to yourself when you are just not getting it is HARD, but so very useful. I can't learn to not beat myself up unless I give myself lots of chances. I still do it, but the thrashing stops sooner and it less brutal now.
- Not knowing how to do something is a very important part of learning, but it is the part that is brushed over rushed and just a part of the training montage in our culture. We are not taught how to cope with not being able to do something. So I am learning slowly by doing it.
- I have created a reason to challenge myself to go beyond my comfort zone. It keeps me ready for when life takes me out of my comfort zone.
I know that you are supposed to be able to approach anything with a beginer's mind if you have enough zen, but for beginner's like me sometimes it is easiest to find that place by being an actual beginner.
- Being bad at something with grace is a really valuable skill, I am not there yet, but I am closer for the practice. When you know you are not good it is so very easy to become defensive and snap at people who are trying to help you. Accepting help with grace is a serious challenge and it is hardest when you need it most.
- Being kind to yourself when you are just not getting it is HARD, but so very useful. I can't learn to not beat myself up unless I give myself lots of chances. I still do it, but the thrashing stops sooner and it less brutal now.
- Not knowing how to do something is a very important part of learning, but it is the part that is brushed over rushed and just a part of the training montage in our culture. We are not taught how to cope with not being able to do something. So I am learning slowly by doing it.
- I have created a reason to challenge myself to go beyond my comfort zone. It keeps me ready for when life takes me out of my comfort zone.
I know that you are supposed to be able to approach anything with a beginer's mind if you have enough zen, but for beginner's like me sometimes it is easiest to find that place by being an actual beginner.