It’s Okay to Be Bad at Something
This Is Something I Keep Having To Remind Myself
Because if I’m honest, I want the results without the awkward middle bit.
The confidence.
The clarity.
The sense of “yeah, I know what I’m doing now.”
But the truth is, nobody really wants the part where you’re not very good yet.
The clunky stage.
The unsure stage.
The “I’m showing up but it doesn’t really look like much” stage.
And yet, that’s the part that actually matters.
The Bit We All Try To Skip
Most people don’t struggle because they lack ability.
They struggle because they don’t know how to sit inside the early phase.
We’re not taught how to be bad at something.
We’re taught to either:
be good
or stop
And when progress doesn’t show up quickly, the mind fills in the gap:
“Maybe this isn’t for me.”
“Maybe I’m not cut out for this.”
“Maybe I should be further along by now.”
That’s usually not insight.
That’s discomfort talking.
A Quick Reframe That Changes Everything
Being bad at something doesn’t mean you’re failing.
It just means you’re early.
Early isn’t a problem.
Quitting is.
We tend to treat the early phase like evidence that something’s wrong, when actually it’s evidence that something’s new.
Every skill, every identity shift, every meaningful change has this phase built in.
There is no version of growth that skips it.
What’s Actually Happening (The Theory Bit)
From a behavioural point of view, this stage is uncomfortable for a very specific reason.
At the beginning of anything:
effort is high
feedback is low
reward is delayed
Your brain doesn’t like that combination.
We’re wired to keep doing things that give us quick feedback and a sense of competence. When those things are missing, the brain interprets it as danger or waste, even when it isn’t.
So it sends signals like:
doubt
boredom
frustration
comparison
“what’s the point?”
Not because you’re doing the wrong thing — but because you haven’t done it long enough yet.
Confidence doesn’t come before action.
Confidence is the byproduct of repetition.
It comes after you’ve shown up enough times while feeling unsure and survived it.
A Personal Note (Because I’m In This Too)
I feel this with putting videos out.
You show up.
You record.
You post.
And the response doesn’t match the effort, at least not yet.
It’s very easy in that space to speed up, overthink, or quietly question the whole thing.
But when I slow it down and look honestly, something else is true:
I’m more comfortable on camera than I was
I’m clearer in how I speak
I’m learning what lands and what doesn’t
Those things don’t show up in views straight away — but they matter.
Time does a lot of the work for you if you let it.
Most people stop just before that boring, uncomfortable repetition starts paying off.
How To Actually Apply This (Not Just Think About It)
If you’re in the middle of something right now - a new skill, a change, a direction you’ve chosen - try this:
Stop asking “Am I good at this yet?”
It’s the wrong question too early.Ask instead: “Am I still showing up?”
That’s the only commitment that really matters at this stage.Track effort, not outcomes (for now)
Outcomes lag. Skills compound quietly.Notice what’s already different
Even if it’s subtle. Especially if it’s subtle.
Progress often shows up as familiarity before it shows up as success.
A Quieter Ending Than Motivation
This isn’t about pushing harder.
It’s about staying when it would be easier to leave.
If you’re struggling, if you feel clumsy or behind or not very good yet, that doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong path.
It probably means you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.
You don’t need to be great right now.
You just need to keep going.
