Do you have dark days feeling you aren’t good at anything?
I do — and it’s not just a feeling, it’s my reality.
Being honest with you and myself, I’m not that good at anything at all. But I’m average in some crafts and newbie in many others.
Do you relate with this? I’m sure that if you aren’t good at anything, if you don’t master anything, you are at least average in several other crafts.
- I have interest in photo and video. I’m average… in maximum.
- I have interest in SEO — I’m average at it. I have interest in HTML… I’m less than average, but able to edit templates as I need.
- I have interest in construction and house building… and here we go… I’m average or less, but able to, for example, to build one month ago a new bathroom in my garage. I’m not a zero. The bathroom it’s not perfect…but it’s done.
- I’m a non-professional drummer for 26 years now…an average drummer. Never reached professional level. Why? For all these years, I only played once a week, maximum.
- I’ve converted an internal combustion engine car in an electric car… without knowing electricity or mechanics. I’ve studied the minimum to buy the right components... I wanted it and I’ve done it! The car drives.
One thing positive is that I try things that I never done. I don’t master anything but I'm ok with trying… and normally I’m able to do something. Of course, not at a professional level, but I’m able to do things, so achieving a certain level of success.
Not mastering anything will not give you a great success in life. But for doing several things, for sure you have …several bites of success. So it depends on how we measure it. Just compound all the small victories you got.
I have a beautiful family, a roof, cars, a job, money for food and urgencies and even for small projects, so I must not complain at all. Not being that good at anything, what I’ve accomplished isn’t bad.
Regardless of this, for several times I allow toxic thoughts to accumulate in my mind “ I don’t know how to do anything well“ — This kind of thoughts. Thinking like this doesn’t help you or me — and we’ll get in a spiral of depressing feelings.
What you and me have in common is that we take action. Even not being that good, we start. And that is way better than never start.
What can we as non experts in anything do to feel better?
- For a start, we need to look at what we DID and what we want do a bit better.
- Understand that our great ability is exactly to start many things from scratch. Ok, we are not that focused in mastering, but we focus enough to do the job.
- We can also chose one or two crafts to get deeper knowledge. I went from newbie to average in Search Engine Optimization by necessity. My company needed more sales and we had no money for marketing. Looking at the results I had, maybe I’m above average. The results are good.
- Think in all the things you’ve started and finished and that you wouldn’t even start if you were specialized in one thing.
It’s possible that one day we will find “the” craft where we want to be a master on it. Until than, keep the way you are and maximize it by compounding the small successes.
Being “not good at anything” will make us richer in experiences. I experienced a lot of things that I wouldn’t if I didn’t try so many things, e.g. :
- While an average drummer, I experienced giving concerts, receive feedback from crowd, get some compliments after leaving stage, etc.
- Converting the classic car, I was able to give some interviews and to experience the startup ecosystem.
- With very small knowledge in cars, I’ve built a well stablished small business in the car industry.
So, just find something to aim at, and go for it. You don’t need to be good at it. Just start and if you don’t give up, you will end with what you envisioned done.
I don’t have a great success at anything but I have a lot of small successes that I can compound — and that makes me successful person. I just can’t see it sometimes.
I’ve started this article in a dark day feeling that I’m not good at anything. I wrote very few words on that day. I’ve continued to write in the next days, forcing me think in the things that I’ve accomplished even not being that good! Now, reading the finished article, I feel better. I felt better while I was writing the positive stuff, the small accomplishments.
I really hope to make you a bit happier and positive by relating with these writings (Very newbie writings, but done writings).
