Today marks the day that I’m quitting doing what I’m good at and beginning to focus on what I suck at.
For most of my life, I’ve focused on the things that I believe I am good at. Our western culture teaches us that we should find a specialty and focus on it to become the best we can be. And it makes sense; experts are generally rewarded, in one way or another. I consider myself an expert computer programmer, and I have enjoyed my experience and wouldn’t give it up for anything.
So it’s been quite an interesting journey the past few years as I’ve found myself wanting to explore the world and myself more deeply than what is defined by my career. It feels odd to focus on things that I’m not proficient in, but one thing that I have learned very quickly is that nothing can teach you more about yourself than by doing something you are bad at.
It’s something we all fear; trying and failing. But it’s also something that wakes up our minds in a way that nothing else can. When we purposefully try to do something that we have no idea how to do, we are doing one very important thing: we are disengaging our muscle memory and for a moment, becoming intensely mindful. We have to carefully observe everything around us and determine with a beginner’s mind how to proceed.
It is only in this state of complete mindfulness where we learn new skills and begin to understand more about ourselves and the world and people around us. It is only by putting ourselves into this discomfort and uncertainty that we can really expect to grow as a person.
So today I will start doing the things I am scared to do. I will ask myself every day how I am going to make myself uncomfortable. And, even though I’m scared about it, I will put myself in these situations.
Afterall, why would I want today to be the same as yesterday?