Getting Started: It’s OK To Be Terrible

It’s OK to be embarrassingly BAD at it…

Really. We all think our natural talent should shine through the first time we do something. I wish….but life doesn’t work like that.

I’ve been continually pushing myself out of my comfort zone this summer. I’m finding there are SO many things I’m embarrassingly bad at, but at the same time, these are endeavors that I’m motivated to become decent, and maybe even good at.

I started playing golf on the local Chamber of Commerce Thursday night league. I have one of the worst handicaps in the league (I’m sure), yet now that I’ve been doing it all summer, I’m seeing glimmers of promise. I actually drove my ball 150 yards onto the green and made a par on my last round. Whoo-hoo! These slivers of success are what motivate me to keep coming back.

I’ve also started a new workout routine. My class is filled with tri-athletes and marathon runners. Needless to say, I’m embarrassingly bad at this workout…at least compared to this group of peers. But if I want a better body I need to persevere. I have to suck up my pride and soldier on. No one seems judgmental. In fact, other class participants go out of their way to encourage me and show me the ropes. The embarrassment is mostly in my head.

What motivated me to write this post is that I’m working with several clients right now who are “embarrassingly bad” at marketing. They’ve been “white-knuckle marketing”, meaning they are just holding onto for their dear lives. They have a website that they pray no one will ever visit and they skate by just by having a decent product and personality.