Worth Doing Poorly

Many of us miss some of life's best things while saying, "I don't know how to do that. If I were to try, I'd only make a fool of myself."

Perfectionist settle for nothing short of first - rate performance from themselves, while they come across something that has to be learned through trial and error, they become intolerant of their limitations. They pile up points in the things they can do  with ease and skill, while ignoring - and maybe putting down - the things they do poorly.

People with this bent personality can get depressed, for nobody is capable of premier performance in everything. They get so tense they sometimes botch even the things they are good at doing. They can't relax. They remove risk from life by narrowing their interests. They get in safe comfortable and boring ruts.

It's liberating for some people to find out they can make mistakes and still survive! If your new dessert flops, the world won't end... If you make a mistake at work, you won't die... If you can't master calculus or statistics, you can still be a good person. If someone hears you sing off - key, you won't become outcast.

Thank God for your mistakes. They let you learn. They mean you are still pushing out your horizons. They give you a chance to grow. They let the rest of us know you are still one of us.

Give it a shot!

If you were perfect, your life would be terribly dull! Nothing to learn, no more new challenges. No relationship with peers. The rest of us would be too intimidated to talk to you, play tennis with you or work alongside you. And you certainly wouldn't need anyone of our inferior status to care about you.

So don't be paralyzed by your fears...

Whatever it is that you want to do and do well likely will be learned through a process that involves some miscues and false starts. But if its worth doing at all, its worth poorly at first...

Just give it a shot!!

Take piano lessons. Write story. Learn to use computer. Paint your bedroom. Water ski. Care about someone...

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Forwarded by Jane S.