Imperfect

In Embracing your incompetence by Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin shares,

“You can’t be great at everything. None of us are.”

That is the problem that a lot of my students have. They want to be good at everything because they think that if they are, more people will like them or they will be accepted better. It is hard to make them realize that this is an impossible goal for anyone and not just students. By setting this goal, they are setting themselves up for failure.

Exploration:

First, it is important for them to find out what they like to do. In order to do this, they need to try different things. My hubby and I have tried to play golf and I realized that I just didn’t like it so I know that I will never be great at something I don’t like. I cook because we need to eat but I’m not great at it. I don’t like hunting or fishing so I won’t ever be great at it. I love knitting and spinning yarn so I think I’m pretty great at these things. But I would never have known if I hadn’t given them a try. So, exploration is an important part of learning what we like to do.

Practice: 

Once students find something they like, they need to practice at it. You can’t be proficient at something unless you practice it. I think I’m a pretty great knitter and spinner but I couldn’t have become this if I hadn’t practiced. While practicing, I may have some failures or mishaps, but if I don’t give up, I will get better.

Flexibility:

Once I get proficient at something, I don’t have to just do that one thing. I can learn something else that I like to do and work on that skill. This gives me options of doing things at different times. I like writing and doing this blog but it doesn’t consume my life. I can knit when I’m in the mood or I can spin when I would rather do that. I like to garden but it is a seasonal hobby so I have other things I can do when it is too cold or wet to garden.

I see learning new things and accepting that I am imperfect and can’t be great at all things as a great way of living my life. Students will have a much richer life and feel more successful if they can learn that it is alright to be imperfect.

How did you learn to accept your imperfectness? Please share.

Photo by Holger Link on Unsplash