Don’t let a learning curve ruin your mentality
Last year I picked up the sport of Golf. I had tried it when I was younger and played for 1 season only and went maybe 2 times during that run. I found it fun but never did more with it. It wasn’t until last year though that I decided to try it again. After deciding to go to the drive range with my partner I immediately fell in love. It was the stress relief I needed while providing me a whole new challenge. And let me tell you about actually playing the sport, Yes! The walking around with friends, having a drink, wacking balls, while driving a cart around, Count me in. So what changed from then to now? My mentality.
When I was younger I was closed minded to a lot of things. This included the game of golf. I played to be able to hang out with a friend but never got into it. You see the game of golf is a metaphor for life. It requires patience and being in control of your emotions and self. It requires discipline and honesty with you about what’s going on. If you are having an off day then you are more likely to have an off game. If you aren’t in the right head space then you are probably not going to have a good game. And back then because my mentality was just shit. I couldn’t fathom sticking with anything or being good at it.
So why am I talking about Golf? Well because last year I started this wonderful sport and this year I am gearing up to take it a bit more serious. And I want to see what is a hobby or a sport that you have been thinking about doing or starting or one you thought about a while ago but never did. Well my challenge for you is to start it, even if you suck at it, because in order to become great at something you have to first suck. Yes some people have can have a natural proclivity to a sport or a skill but they must still be a beginner just like everyone else. You don’t start out good, you become good through work, commitment, and consistency.
It’s not always easy to stick with something. How many times did I try to write a blog but would give up and delete it? Probably about 3 times? It’s hard to recall the actual count but I literally would start one and after a few entries or maybe even months I would look at it and delete everything. I thought it was garbage and couldn’t understand why I couldn’t be good at writing. I would get tired of it and just give up but starting Dare to Habit I decided to put up or shut up. I wasn’t going to give up this time because I love to write and I wasn’t going to let my beginner level status deter me from accomplishing a dream of mine.
Everyday I wrote, missing 30 days out of the entire year. It was consistency to a whole new level and then after the year was up what happened? I continued to do it. Why because it is part of my routine, it’s part of me and who I am. Sharing my ideas and thoughts with others to help motivate and inspire has brought me so much joy. Writing all last year proved to me I can do anything, which is why Golf is the next thing I want to tackle even if it isn’t pretty. I want to take more lessons and start working a better in depth understanding. (Might have to add a golf book to my list) Because I wasted so much of my life avoiding being bad at things. That led me to never stick with anything and only pushed me to stay stagnant in my life.
That is why I am challenge you to start something now. Prove to yourself you can stick with something, that you can learn all you can and better yourself at it everyday. Change your mentality about it, use words like I can, I am, and How can I do it differently instead of just dismissing it because there is a learning curve. In a world where instant gratification is everyone’s go to we forget that there is a learning curve to everything we do. You didn’t walk right away or know how to read. You had to start somewhere, learning and becoming consistent to it until it was second nature. The thing is you have to take responsibility for yourself here. You are in complete control of your entire world, you make time or you don’t, you make it a priority or you don’t, you use excuses or you find reasons, you let your mentality dismiss it or you rise to greet it. You determine your own level of involvement, so how involved are you in your own life? Or do you just keep allowing life to happen to you, instead of being open to the idea of the fact it’s happening for you.
No one is going to teach you consistency, determination, motivation, or passion. There is no magic book or pill you can take to create this. You have to create it for yourself and shed that old shitty mentality and break in your new one. It’s not easy but you can do it. So have faith in yourself and value yourself enough to make the effort. It’s your choice whether today will be the start of this journey or if you will keep putting it off until someday then use excuses every time you put it off. Which one do you want to be? The victor or the zombie? I know right now that I want to be the one taking an axe to the zombie so it doesn’t infect me with it’s zombieness. No thank you mindless autopilot monster!
So over the next week decide what you want. Make a list of a bunch of things you want to do or try, then spend the next week trying them. Find one that you enjoy but are only hesitant because you hate sucking at it. Then make a vow to yourself that you will do this thing for the next year. Get a calendar and everyday you do it cross out the day with a big x. Make it fun even when you aren’t having fun. Keep at it even if you want to throw in the towel because one day it will click for you. With enough consistency you will look at it and be like damn I love this thing so much and I’m not to bad either. Look at me go. Get after it my friend and make good girl or good boy choices.
Today was a 8.