The Three Scientific Reasons You Need to Do Things You Suck At
Hi there, it’s me, your friendly neighborhood overachieving perfectionist. Any of this sound familiar?
Let me tell you a quick story. About two years ago, I took up painting as a hobby.
I had zero artistic background, no painting supplies, none of my friends painted. All I had was a desire to unwind a bit and relax while doing something creative. I’d noticed that my evenings were turning into marathon scrolling sessions — even if I was watching TV, I’d frequently have my phone out, browsing Twitter or Facebook. It was making me unhappy.
So, I took up painting on a whim.
The result? I was really, really terrible.
I’m going to include an embarrassing piece of evidence here to illustrate (pun intended) my point:
Now, two years later, after more than 100 paintings in watercolour and acrylic, guess what?
I’m still not that great at it. Here’s why that’s a good thing.
Hey, no surprise, I’m a lot better at painting now than I was two years ago. And I have the workbooks to prove it. When I’m stuck for inspiration, or feeling a bit bad about myself, I love to page through my old painting books and see how far I’ve come.
While I don’t consider myself ‘good’ yet by any stretch, I am better. That’s something worth pursuing.
By striving for improvement, you’re literally making your brain stronger. Learning a new skill actually increases the amount of myelin in your brain, which improves your brain’s performance on all sorts of tasks.
I was practicing something and getting better at it because I felt like it — not because of any pressure. I could flip back to a painting I did a year before and be proud of my undeniable accomplishment: getting slightly less awful at painting.
There are so many skills in life I practice that I wasn’t instantly good at. Whether it’s managing a team, using Excel, or even just having a non-awkward conversation in an elevator with a professional superior, I am constantly running into things I’m not good at.
When I started to paint, I became more comfortable with the feeling of failure. Is it still scary to fail? Oh my, yes. Do I enjoy failing? No, I don’t think I ever will. Is it good for me?
Absolutely.
In order to maximize our performance in any part of life, we actually need a little bit of stress. This is something called ‘optimal anxiety.’
Optimal anxiety sounds scary, but all it means is the zone of your comfort where you’re pushed into trying your hardest. The good news?
By doing this regularly, you’ll find it easier to cope with unexpected changes in your life. You’ll also find it easier and easier to break out of your comfort zone the more you do it.
At my day job, I feel like I can’t slip up. There’s no room for error. I constantly push forward to do the best I can. I never submit a piece of work I’m not 100% happy with. I perpetually dwell on the possibility of failure.
It’s been demonstrated that feeling like you have to be perfect at work is ruining our mental and physical health.
In contrast, when I sit down to paint, I consciously free myself of those heavy expectations. I know I’m terrible. I’m allowed to be terrible. I’m just doing this for fun.
When something comes out that’s not as great as I was hoping, I shrug and move on. It’s just practice, I can tell myself. Tomorrow, I’ll be better.
When something comes out that’s actually decent, I’m thrilled and overjoyed. I hang it on the fridge, like I’m my own proud mother.
By doing something you know you’re not great at, you can enjoy the feeling of genuine improvement while not beating yourself up for less-than-stellar performance.It relieves the burden of feeling like you have to be on top of your game, 24/7.
Pushing out of your comfort zone is terrifying. But it’s something you need to do in every aspect of your life. Not only is it good for your brain, give you the chance to fail in a healthy, productive way, and give you an outlet for stress relief, it’s good to learn how to stretch yourself.
Failing is never fun. Doing it with something you enjoy is a great stepping stone.
Join my mailing list to stay in touch.
The Three Scientific Reasons You Need to Do Things You Suck At
Research & References of The Three Scientific Reasons You Need to Do Things You Suck At|A&C Accounting And Tax Services
Source