It’s hard to attempt to do something we’ve never done before.
What’s even more difficult is to attempt to do it with other people watching.
Whether it’s learning to dance, to drive, to participate in a sport or speak another language, our ego can prevent us from even trying because we don’t want to look like we don’t know what we’re doing.
And there’s the dilemma.
We cannot improve or advance until we are first willing to honestly acknowledge where we are on the learning curve.
We sometimes see others who have paid the price to master a skill and we forget that they were once beginners like us.
This is why humility is absolutely essential if we wish to learn something.
Ed Latimore says it like this:
“Embarrassment is the cost of entry. If you aren’t willing to look like a foolish beginner, you’ll never become a graceful master.”
Put another way, if we can find the courage to try something, knowing full well that we suck at it, we are on the path to mastering it.
Failing at something, even repeatedly, is not the same thing as being a failure.
Anyone who has mastered a particular skill has failed more times than they can count.
The difference between remaining unskilled and becoming a master is to never stop trying.
It’s also a very good reason to offer sincere encouragement to those who are willing to suffer embarrassment in the quest to improve themselves.
You may also enjoy Latter-day Voices, another quality publication in the Fifty-two Seven Alliance family.
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