One thing many of my coaching idols have said at one time or another: it's okay to be a beginner! Everyone started somewhere.
This is difficult to accept if you're a high-performing, perfectionist-type person. You may not want to invest in something unless you can be sure that you'll do it well, but that is just your ego trying to control the outcome.
Just start. Give yourself permission to make a mess of it and do it badly at first. Practice. Do a little, then do a little more; you'll get better at it with time and effort. You have to risk being bad at something if you ever want to be good at it.
For instance, I've always wanted to learn to play piano. For my birthday last September, my boyfriend helped me buy an electronic piano. It's set up in my dining room. It's currently collecting dust. I know that, to be good at piano, I need to practice and work on it every week, but it's disheartening to open my music book and struggle with a simple children's song. I get frustrated. I don't expect to be able to perform Rachmaninov right out of the gate, but I need to lower my expectations even more. I need to practice reading music, I need to practice playing with both hands, I need to make the effort to get the results I want. I need to be willing to play children's songs badly if I ever want to be good at piano.
"Perfect is the enemy of good."
- Elizabeth Royte, Environmental Writer
This is also good advice if you're stuck on your dream. Remind yourself, what drew you to it in the first place? What was the first spark that made you say "YES! This is what I want!" Get some of that beginner energy back into your dream and it will help you move forward.
Be a beginner. Make a mess. And slowly, out of the chaos, something beautiful will emerge!
Cathy Carpenter
is a creativity/life coach, tarot reader, fiction writer, blogger, visual artist, crafter, dreamer, and planner. She is on a path to find more deep satisfaction in her daily life creatively, emotionally, and spiritually. She wants to mix the magical and the mundane. As she's exploring, she likes to share what she's learning and would love to help you explore these themes as well.
Go deeper. Explore your depths.
[email protected], http://exploringyourdepths.com/