The benefit of looking stupid.͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
| Today I'm writing about looking stupid. You have to be willing to look stupid, or unskilled, or silly, or like a total beginner if you want to do anything good, learn a skill, have fun, enjoy life, or create anything lasting in this world. Think of kids—do they worry about looking dumb or falling down when they first start trying to walk? Can you even imagine a 2 year old "worried" or self conscious in that way? Yet they do look funny. Kids do make hilarious mistakes when they're trying to learn basic skills like walking or jumping. And it's okay. That's part of the process. It is not your destiny to actually look stupid. Many things just work out for you. The point I'm making is that you have to be willing to expose yourself to the "risk" of looking silly. You must embrace the potentiality of "cringe." And sometimes that potential gets realized and you do look silly or unskilled in your first few attempts. Some people will say "Oh, no one even pays attention. No one cares what you're doing, it's all in your head." The truth is that sometimes the world will laugh at you or at least wonder what you're doing. People do take notice. The real hurdle to get past is that it's real, people are looking at you, and you have to acknowledge the attention and still do it anyway. Doing pull-ups on tree branches while walking down the street may turns heads, look "weird," or might make you feel self conscious, but it's good for you. It's fun. Do them. Dancing with your kids or spouse in public could cause you to stand out, but that all melts away once you're in the moment and doing it. Starting a business that some might say is a long shot or even dumb. "No chance. Have you seen the stats on businesses that fail?" Okay... and? There's no way around it but through. If you think trying something new and messing up is bad, imagine never trying at all. Let me know what you think about all this, folks. How do you get past the feeling of looking silly or stupid when trying something new? What's the hardest part of it? Drop a reply in the comment section of New and Noteworthy. |
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Mark's Daily Apple 1101 Maulhardt Ave. Oxnard, CA 93033 |
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