If A Tree Fails In The Forrest

Hey Brother,

"The first step to being really good at something is being really bad at something."

That is really inspiring. I want to hang that poster in my office with a backdrop of a calming meadow. Seriously. 

I remember learning about Mozart as a kid...apparently he just sat down at a piano when he was a toddler and started playing. He was never terrible. But for the rest of us, we have to embrace failure as step 1. I think that was easier as a kid, because everyone was terrible, so you didn't stick out. Oh, you don't know how to do long division? none of us do. That's why we're in grade 3! Oh, you need the baseball to sit on top of a tee in order to make contact? Well you should probably man up, because tee's are unacceptable at any age.

You get the point. It was easy when we were young, because everything about us was in development. Nowadays there is this looming assumption that i'm supposed to be an adult. A completed version of something. And with that, comes a pressure to not suck at things! That pressure is probably exclusively internal, but nonetheless, it's there, and it's toxic!

What would I love to be good at, that I currently suck at? There's a long list, but I've narrowed it down to three that share something in common. Fantasy football, dating and standup comedy. What do they have in common? Not only do I suck at them, but improving would mean falling on my face in public. Which means I have to stop caring what other people think...or at least care more about improving.

I'm trying to think of things i've done that illustrate not caring what other people think...it's probably not a good sign that wearing white after labour day, and live tweeting the bachelor are pretty high on my list. The things i've done because I care what others think is definitely a deeper category. In grade 2, I accidentally wore my pyjamas to school. I didn't realize they were on underneath my snow suit. When I discovered what I'd done, I hid in the bathroom until mom brought me a change of clothes. When I was six, I snuck into the medicine cabinet and found the 'extra strength' Tums. "Extra strength? I need that!" I ate the whole bottle and checked my bicep for growth between each pill popped.

It's terrifying, but there is just too much I want to accomplish that involves a healthy dose of public humility. So i'm not kidding; I'm currently designing my office and your quote is going on the wall. I figure that will solve everything, right?

When you think about things you've done because of what other people thought....or despite what they thought. What comes to mind?