How to Become Good at Anything

7 Times I have Epically Failed Trying

Have you ever looked at someone else’s life and thought, “Man they are just good at everything!”?

I know for sure I have fallen into that trap.

The truth is that we are ALL gifted with certain talents and abilities from our Creator. No two of us are alike. However, sometimes we desire to excel in areas where we aren’t necessarily naturally gifted.

If you have ever admired or envied someone else’s talent, then you can relate to this!

I have good news for you! Just because you aren’t naturally gifted in a certain area DOES NOT MEAN that you can’t become good in that area. You simply need to fall in love with being the AMATUER and remember that we aren’t created to be perfect at everything (or anything for that matter)! We are called to do our best and to trust in He who is perfect.

The other day when I kicked off this blog and completely boshed it, I had to laugh. I am totally the person who takes off running full sprint with something I know nothing about only to fall flat on my face and get back up. I fall, I learn, I fall again, I learn again. Falling can hurt sometimes and it can be embarrassing, but I firmly believe we come out stronger when we fail trying rather than if we fail to try at all.

Think of a toddler. They look like drunken little sailors trying to walk. They fall dozens of times a day. But they don’t care! They try and fall and try and try until they get it. Then they take off running!

Why is it that as we grow older, we become less willing to try new things? Why do we fear falling so much? Why do we look at failing as such a bad thing?

Guess what? If you are trying something new… chances are you are going to be bad at it at first. Just be okay with that. It’s okay to be a beginner!

However, one thing is for sure! If you keep trying diligently and practice. YOU WILL IMPROVE!

There have been MANY times in my life when I have looked totally silly and foolish. (My current attempt at blogging is one of those times…)

If you want to become good at something that you are not naturally good at, you simply need to:

• work at it relentlessly
• be okay with messing up and not being perfect
• commit to learning from others who ARE good at it — never stop learning
• pray about it

Let me share some of the times I totally messed while trying to become good at things I wasn’t naturally good at…

…9 years old with no gymnastics background, determined to teach myself how to do an aerial (cartwheel with no hands). I probably did 300 aerials (or more) landing on my knees before I actual landed one on my feet. I looked like a fool, but I didn’t care. My legs were full of bruises, but I was determined. Now 22 years later… I can still do it!

…my senior year of high school I worked on a local farm. I knew very little Spanish at the time. However, I loved “trying” to talk to the workers. I know I was saying 90% of things wrong, but I didn’t care. They totally laughed at me, but I was okay with that. I kept talking and learned as I went. I went on to college to Major in Spanish, but I would argue that most of my learning came from speaking with Native speakers. Be okay with sounding like you don’t know the language well. Native speakers are flattered that you are talking to them to learn. Now I am a freelance Spanish translator for a local company.

…homeschooling my kids! My kids are in 1st and 2nd grade and we have just now figured out a good groove that works for us (I started homeschooling both of them in preschool… 4 years ago). We would try something, it wouldn’t work and then we would try something new. Yes it was discouraging sometimes, but I knew deep down that I could do it if I kept trying. Eventually I would discover what worked for us. And guess what? We did! As humans, often times we quit hard things before we figure them out. You will figure it out if you keep trying! I promise!

….singing. Oh Boy! This is SO not a natural talent for me. But my best good friend asks me to lead a song now and then at church. I have failed miserably at this… miserably! To the point of tears. True story! The amazing encourager that she is, she continues to encourage not only me, but other rookie singers to try. By no means am I “good”, but over time I have learned to stay on pitch in the right key. With a enough practice and training (vocal lessons) I am convinced most people can become decent singers.

… playing the piano in a worship band. My piano training consists of 2 years of lessons in Junior High then never playing again until about 4 or 5 years ago when my friend asked me if I remembered my basic chords. Excited at the thought of playing again, I told her I would re-learn them! (I have learned so much off of YouTube!!) I’ll be honest I was nervous as heck to play in a band of talented instrumentalists because I didn’t want to be the distraction messing up all the time (for record, I have messed up plenty of times). But I am glad I didn’t let that hold me back. I hate to think of what I might be missing out on if I had let fear and pride hold me back. Serving in the worship band has been a life-changing experience. Are you missing out on something that could be a huge blessing to your life because of fear or pride?

…becoming a lifestyle coach. I had no clue what I was doing when I started. I knew that I would not be perfect right away… I am still figuring it out! But I saw others who were good at it and knew that if they could do it, I could do it. I committed to learning from them and improving each day. I committed to falling in love with helping others through my imperfections (check out The Simply Fierce Project for more on that).

…BLOGGING! Here I am. This is my 3rd attempt at starting a blog. Yes big number 3 (first and second were unsuccessful)! I have SO SO SO much to learn. But I am committed to not quitting. I am committed to learning the ins and outs. I have invested in an intense professional training because I know that it is a tried and true way to get better at something! I have a deep desire to encourage other people. Our world breaks my heart. I want to be a light. I will not give up simply because I don’t fully understand the technical aspect of all this. I will learn. I will mess up, I am 100% sure of it! But I will master it eventually.

Ask yourself this…

Is there something you really really want to try? Is there something you want to become great at? Are afraid to try because you might fail? Are you afraid to try because you think it’s not within your abilities?

You will fail, I promise… let’s just get that out of the way. But embrace the times you mess up and keep trying. You WILL get there. Just persist. Be diligent. Don’t stop. Set your focus. Be okay with being the amatuer. You can do it!!

I want to cheer you on… comment below: what is the one new thing you have always wanted to try???

xoxo

Allison