Note 042
I heard a one-liner the other day and immediately thought:
I have to pass this along.
A young woman was at the gym on the StairMaster.
Someone asked her how she was able to stay on that machine for 60 minutes.
Her response was simple:
“I didn’t start off like this.”
She explained that she wanted to get better at it, so she slowly increased her time.
A couple more minutes.
Then a couple more.
And a couple more.
Until eventually, she could do 60 minutes.
She built her strength.
She built her stamina.
She built her endurance.
But it took time.
And then she said something that stopped me:
“You have to be brave enough to be bad at something new.”
Now that’s a note.
Because isn’t that what stops so many of us?
We don’t want to be beginners.
We don’t want to look inexperienced.
We don’t want anyone to see us struggling.
We don’t want to make mistakes.
We don’t want to ask questions that we think everyone else already knows the answer to.
We want to start something and immediately be good at it.
And if we’re not?
We quit.
Or worse…
We never start.
But nobody starts at 60 minutes.
Nobody starts knowing everything.
Nobody starts with perfect confidence.
Nobody starts with all the answers.
The woman on that StairMaster didn’t magically wake up one day and become someone who could exercise for an hour on that machine.
She started where she was.
And then she added a little more.
That’s how growth works.
A little more.
A little better.
A little stronger.
A little wiser.
A little braver.
And eventually, you look back and realize:
Wow. Look how far I’ve come.
This applies to almost everything.
Starting college?
You’re going to be new.
Starting a career?
You’re going to have things you don’t know.
Starting a business?
You’re going to make mistakes.
Becoming a parent?
Please believe me—you are learning as you go.
Starting a new job?
You may not know where everything is or how everything works.
Learning a new skill?
You’re probably going to be terrible at it before you’re good at it.
Trying something you’ve always been afraid to try?
You’re probably going to feel uncomfortable.
And that’s okay.
Because being bad at something isn’t evidence that you can’t do it.
It’s often evidence that you’re learning.
And overthinkers…
This one is especially for us.
Because we can think ourselves right out of beginning.
We research.
We analyze.
We compare.
We watch other people doing it.
We look at how good they are.
Then we look at ourselves and think:
“I’m nowhere near that level.”
Well…
Of course you’re not.
You’re looking at their chapter 20 while you’re standing at your chapter 1.
You haven’t had their practice.
Their mistakes.
Their failures.
Their repetition.
Their experience.
Their 60 minutes on the StairMaster.
You have to be willing to start with your two minutes.
Then three.
Then five.
Then ten.
Whatever that looks like for your particular journey.
Give yourself permission to be a beginner.
This might be one of the most freeing things we can give ourselves.
Permission to not know.
Permission to ask.
Permission to make mistakes.
Permission to look awkward.
Permission to change your mind.
Permission to try again.
Permission to not be impressive yet.
You don’t have to be good enough to begin.
Beginning is how you become good.
And maybe that’s the part we’ve been getting backward.
We’re waiting for confidence before we start.
But sometimes confidence comes from starting.
You do the thing.
You survive being uncomfortable.
You learn.
You improve.
You try again.
And eventually you realize:
“Wait…I can actually do this.”
That’s confidence.
So what are you avoiding because you don’t want to be bad at it?
What have you been putting off?
The business idea?
The degree?
The new career?
The workout?
The hobby?
The book?
The creative project?
The conversation?
The lifestyle change?
The version of yourself you’ve been thinking about becoming?
Maybe you don’t need to be fearless.
Maybe you just need to be brave enough to be a beginner.
Start with two minutes.
Then add a little more.
Build your strength.
Build your stamina.
Build your confidence.
And give yourself enough time to become the person who can do what you once thought you couldn’t.
A Note for Today
You have to be brave enough to be bad at something new.
Nobody starts at 60 minutes.
Start where you are.
Do what you can.
Add a little more tomorrow.
And keep going.
Because one day, someone may look at you and ask:
“How are you able to do that?”
And you’ll be able to say:
“I didn’t start off like this.”
Until the next note,
Your Resident Overthinker