I’m not athletic. I’ve never been. I can remember as a child being so paralyzed by fear of sucking, and thus getting made fun of, that I would never try anything remotely athletic—not even lessons to help me suck less.
Fear of sucking, and getting made fun of (even behind our backs) prevents us from stepping outside of our comfort zone.
And not leaving that zone prevents us from doing the thing that will help us get better—at anything.
Yes, it’s true. You suck. You suck at all of the things you haven’t done yet. And you can avoid sucking by not doing anything new.
Or…
You can suck. A lot. And suck really badly. Often. And you can do that until you don’t suck anymore at that particular thing. But then you will (or at least should) have new goals and dreams, at which you will suck. Again.
The lesson here is if you aren’t sucking at something, right now, then you aren’t shooting high enough. Your dreams aren’t big enough.
And if you don’t get over—or at least figure out how to ignore—the fear of sucking, you won’t go for anything bigger than what you already are. And well, that sucks.
So bask in your suckiness. Because if you suck at something, it means you are growing. It means you are going after what you really want. It means you are willing to stretch and be uncomfortable for a chance at something better.
And only then will you find a life that doesn’t suck.
Marjorie Dudley 