The art of not giving into SUCK
When we begin to form a new habit or learn a new skill, it's gonna suck. No two ways about it. But what lies beyond is a treasure of experiential knowledge & wisdom from within.
Remember a time when you were a kid, everything fascinated you? You couldn’t stop yourself from being curious & would do all sorts of investigations into the subject matter.
“I want to draw the sky”
“How long can I hold my breath in the water?”
“How many cookies can i fit into my mouth?”
The last one might just be me but you get the point. Fast forward into our adulthood, our curiosity & wonder tends to dwindle and our capacity to want to learn new things starts to fade. This usually leaves us feeling stagnant and complacent because we become very comfortable in what we already know, which makes it so much harder to embrace the suck when we think about learning something new. So here are 3 ways that can help to overcome the “I suck therefore I am not worthy” mindset:
Beginner’s mind - One of my favourite books is Shunryu Suzuki’s Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind. In it, he talks about dropping our expectations and preconceived ideas about something, and seeing things with an open mind, fresh eyes, just like a beginner. It also helps if you can reconnect with your inner child to reignite that sense of curiosity & wonder. One of the ways we do that at Ommosapiens is through our partnered-movement games: Using sticks, tennis balls and each other’s bodies as tools to create physical challenges that are both fun and reinvigorating.
Find a mentor/teacher you can trust - This is so important because when we attempt to learn something new or maybe change our circumstances, it’s pretty daunting and scary what lies beyond the unknown. Having access to someone with the right qualities for you, can offer guidance & support so you may take concrete steps to get where you want to be, meaning you will suck at first, but not for long. I’ve had many teachers along the way in my practice and my business. It definitely gives me a lot more confidence to get up each day and do what I have to do. Some days still suck, but knowing I can seek council with my mentors helps me stay on course heading in the right direction.
Finding a supportive community - It is important to identify an environment that supports growth and making mistakes, rather than just focusing on outcome & results all the time. Having people around you that have or are going through similar experiences can also help alleviate performance anxiety. When we feel safe with others, we can be more vulnerable with our shortcomings & not let shame cripple us from doing things we are not yet good at. At Ommosapiens, our philosophy around learning is a 2-way street: Our teachers learn just as much from the students as our students learns from our teachers.
I do hope these little reminders will serve you in shifting your attitude and behaviour towards “sucking”. Embracing the suck is just the first step, we still need to take action while adjusting our mindsets so that we may use this not-so-good feeling to our advantage.
