“Once in your life, try something. Work hard at something. Try to change. Nothing bad can happen.” – Jack Ma
I feel like this is a great topic to start with. Why? One, because i am a beginner at this (blogging). Two, It’s New Year! I feel like it is always a good time to kinda try out some new things, try out some new hobbies. New Year is so good for that, it kinda gives you a fresh start, a new beginning. Time to ditch that “new year, new me” selfies on Instagram, Tiktok or whatever social media you are on. It’s time to actually do something new for the first time. I know we are always on that hype or mood to explore some new pathways in life that we haven’t gone down before.
Soo, when i really think about it, like being really aware of myself, my actions, my excuses, these are the reasons i perceived why i don’t start it is because:
I tend to place a standard or an expectation already on what it is that i might want to try before actually starting it. So to give you an example, for the longest time coding was something that always peeks my interest. I dreamt to create something that never existed before (Like how Mark Z. created facebook. Crazy right? I know that is a little ambitious but if you have to set a dream set em hight right?). Programming sparked so much interest in me but i kept prolonging, not even really getting into it, studying it on my own or practicing it on a daily basis because i think i was afraid of being a beginner. I didn’t want to admit that maybe i have to start off from scratch, where as i was watching these people’s coding tutotials from the internet that were amazing at it. Or i know that i wasn’t that good and so i know that its gonna take me some time to get where i wanted to be. I already judged myself already before i even give myself a chance to try it out and see if it something i’m good at or even enjoyed for myself. I’ve already placed a standard or an expectation because i couldn’t meet that standard. I completely lost hope and decided to not even try. Another thing is:
I actually just like the idea of it rather than actually putting in work (Not only me, I think most people are also guilty of this). Even just with that whole coding example. I love the idea of creating something through coding and i love the idea of thinking that i’d be able to create awesome websites or apps someday but then when i actually come down to sitting down and working at it and putting in the day to day hustle to kind of create that expertise that comes from working at something. I like the idea of it but maybe i wasn’t fully committed yet to the work and the effort that i was gonna have to put into it. I think when it comes to beginning new things, we have to ask our selves like it’s not just what we want but what are we willing to do or work at, what challenges are we willing to give ourselves to get the things we want in life. We got to put in the work. Sometimes:
I am so afraid of what people might think and for me not being perfect, I am so afraid of other people maybe seeing my imperfections that i don’t even try to take the risk, to step outside of my comfort zones to try new things. Then i realized, when you live life that way you will end up living very small. I know we all want to live big lives and we wanna go after the things that makes us feel so passionate or make us excited about life. When your brain starts saying “Oh you wont be able to reach your standards. Whats the point in trying, we might look like fools”. Working on that part of our brain can really open up a whole new side of life. I tend to just caught up to the standards and expectations or fear of not being perfect and the fear of what people might think that I really put a huge boundary around the things that I am willing to try out. Ultimately we ended up sitting on the sidelines of life and kinda watching other people go after things that we really want to go after ourselves but we are too afraid. I also tend to tell myself:
I don’t have any time or maybe there will be a better time, maybe next week or next month, maybe next year, maybe I’m not ready yet. I think those are just the excuses that I build within myself to give myself a peace of mind for not going after the things that I know I can accomplish, for not going after the things that I know could bring me joy, but rather I feed the fear rather than kill the fear. Realistically there isn’t gonna be a right time, there is never a right time. Our lives is always busy, theres always things to do. There never be a right time where theres no problem, there’s never be a time where its gonna seem easier to start something that is unknown to you. I think the right time is always right now. I don’t think there will ever be a time that you’re gonna feel a 100% prepared and ready to go at something. So why not try it now, be a beginner now. Take that pressure out of yourself because i think that every time we feel that spark of interest, or curiosity, that’s usually the universe or yourself trying to give flashy signals or signs. When things shines or just sparks your interest that you just want to get your hands in there, in some guitars, some youtube videos, blogs, learning to code, writing a book, trying to bike, learning to drive, boxing, painting, it could be absolutely anything. Just keep in mind that even it don’t work out you might have fun doing it. Also one thing i’m guilty about is:
Comparung my day 1 with somebody’s day 100. It becomes disappointing when you compare your beginning stages with somebody who is doing something for a very long time. So instead of enviousness, we can just gather inspiration and motivation. Remember, every single person you look up to, even the people who inspires us most that doing the things that we haven’t even tried or haven’t started yet. They had to be beginners at one point, had to spent years behind the scenes mastering their craft. Even people who have become experts at whatever you are drawn to, at one point or another they had to start somewhere as well, they started right where you are, they started as beginners. Along the way they put in the work, effort and practiced that something for a long period of time. One bite at a time. Success doesn’t happen overnight. It happens from repeating the thing every single day until you go from a beginner to a master. So ultimately instead of holding yourself against where they’re at, you could look at it as a chance to spark that interest, the inspiration to start now. Because when you start now, hundred days from now, you are on your day 100, rather than still being in day 1 because you kept finding excuses not to start.
“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.” – Michelangelo
In conclusion, there’s never gonna be a right time. Everyone sucks at first, there’s no one who just woke up and a master at coding, drawing, painting, kickboxing or writing books or blogs. So looking at the time that are left in your life, why not try, why not begin. Start now, whatever it is that you wanted to try. Maybe you end up liking it, maybe you find out it isn’t for you, maybe it ends up changing your life. You’ll never know until you jump in and give it a chance. Even with this website of mine, back then i was just I picturing me having a personal website. But writing this blog into my own website? Dang! So out of my comfort zone. I’ve got major fears around this post. Im scared that it’s dumb and poorly written, that nobody will read it, that people wont find value in it, that it was a waste of time. I just have to accept that i am a beginner. This doesn’t have to be perfection. I don’t have to hold this completely unrealistic or unattainable standard on top of my self. I just have to try and just give it a chance. Be a beginner and see what comes of it. Maybe I’ll hit it homerun on a first shot or maybe i have to write 10 first blogs before i get it down. At least i’m trying and i’m playing and having fun with life. I know it’s going to be hard during this pandemic but we all have learned our lessons so we should remember it as we welcome 2022. Even if the health crisis is not over, with all theses Covid-19 strains but we have to keep moving but of course still have to maintain safe practices and mindfulness while still fulfilling these cravings for new experiences.
