What are you bad at? You heard me right. Do you have something you can be bad at? In case you don’t have anything so, let me tell you, you’re missing out on so much. You are probably wondering I’m talking some nonsense. Listen, each of us is good at several things and bad at several other things. But both of those are important. Probably one more important than the other, you know which. Nevertheless, you require one for the sake of the other.
In the next 5 minutes, I’m going to sell my idea of being bad at something, so stick around until the end.
I’ll jump right into it and tell you why you should do a thing you’re bad at? But the trick is to find an activity that you enjoy in spite of being bad at it. Don’t just go looking for simply a bad talent.
Recently, I resumed painting. It’s something I enjoy, I don’t expect myself to excel, and it is something I’m not the best at. I wouldn’t say I’m bad at it, I do have an aptitude for it but I’m not a professional. Neither I intend to.
You see what I’m getting at.
1. No baggage of expectations
Every single time you take up an activity you’re expected to be good at it. We hear people say to quit things you’re bad at and invest that time in things that help your career. But that’s not all.
We need a space where we can just do whatever we want without any baggage. Just be ourselves. Just satiating our curiosity. We might be mediocre or even bad at it but it is something we enjoy doing. There’s no reason to quit it.
I created this. Not the best and very basic, right. But I’m happy that I’m just able to do it.
2. Zero judgments
Oftentimes, we judge ourselves. External validation is one thing but that constant nagging of internal judgment is much worse. We can at least shut those that are external but it is terrible to keep listening to our internal rants.
So when you indulge in an activity that you’re not so good at, you will be able to breathe peacefully. You will be able to simply enjoy. That inner critic is silenced.
Being happy doesn’t mean being good at everything.
3. No pressure to get better
Whenever you are doing something you intend to get better. And it is also expected of you. But when you have a hobby like this, there’s absolutely no pressure to get better. You can act on your own terms. Whether you improve or not, eh. Big deal.
4. Freedom
What freedom means to you? Several different things to several people. Some want financial freedom, some wish to voice their opinions, so on. But what everyone wants is to have mental freedom. We think it’s a given so we never consider it much.
These are stressful times. If I say having a hobby you’re bad at gives you that freedom, would you try to understand?
Just be a kid again and play.
5. Stress reliever
Constantly trying only to be good at things builds pressure and stress. Suppose you are bad at “B” and you are good at “G”, which is your career or something you should be good at at any cost. And when you are stressed because of “G” you can go back to “B” and relieve your stress.
So when you go back to work, you will be able to produce better results.
You need a hobby that you can turn to when stressed.
See, what we consider as useless or time-waste are not actually so. They also serve a purpose. As long as you enjoy a hobby, you don’t have to quit it.