Perfection. We all strive for it in our society. If you’re not working around the clock to create a flawless product or service, you’re not good enough. Most of us don’t know what it means to relax and accept that we’re just not going to be great at everything. I had been at (one of) my jobs for 20 of the last 21 days, working tons of 10-12 hour days, before taking the last two days off. And that’s not even taking days off, that’s taking a weekend and it’s important to realize that you’re not obligated to work 50 hours every week unless you’re a business owner fighting for your dream. It’s also important to realize that you won’t be good at everything, so I’m going to share with you five things that I fail miserably, every time I try because we’re not all made to do everything right.
1. Playing the guitar – Bass, guitar, ukulele… fail, fail, fail. I love music and although I’m an alright vocalist who can play brass instruments, woodwinds, the piano and even the violin, I cannot play those certain string instruments. I think the strum is my downfall, although I think my fat fingers just kind of hold down multiple strings at once. I have strong fast hands and good hand-eye coordination, but aside from Guitar Hero, I am a Guitar Zero. And I’ve tried a decent amount, especially with the ukulele.
2. Putting in contacts – When my vision deteriorated around 2004, the doctor had me use contacts because glasses were a little dangerous in contact sports. The problem was, it took me nearly 30 minutes to get contacts in at 6 in the morning. Or 6 at night… or any time of the day. I like to blame my freakishly long eyelashes because I have no problem touching my eyes with my fingertips. No matter how many times I try, they just don’t go in my eye. And I’ve tried hundreds, maybe even thousands, of times.
3. Bowling – If you want to beat me at a sport, choose bowling. I’ll self-destruct at some point because I just don’t get it. I’ve watched it on ESPN and while I was the captain of every sports team ever, my brother was the captain of the varsity bowling team in high school. I missed that gene. My average score is around 65, and while I’ve hit in the upper hundreds before, it’s a stroke (or ten) of luck. Plus, my thumb always hurts at the end.
4. Juggling – I haven’t tried too much, but I’ve been taught by people who have successfully taught others, with my failure certain. For someone with a lot of hand-eye coordination, large hands, and the ability to catch, you’d think this would be easy. For some reason, I just try to do it too fast and lose control. I could be used to performance sports so much that I turn it into Olympic juggling, but the result is the same… me not being good.
5. Communicating – I don’t know where to start with this one, but don’t expect a call, text, or email back when you contact me. I’m notoriously slow and/or inconsistent in my communication behaviors. It sort of escapes me in the moment and then I forget about it for weeks. I’m not great in person either since I like to just stay to myself for the most part. I think that once people get to know me, they don’t become offended by it anymore because they realize it isn’t them, it’s me.
See, it’s alright to be bad at something and admit it because we’re not going to be perfect. I’ve tried all of these plenty of times and I’m still awful at them. We have our strengths and weaknesses, but it’s important to be honest with yourself, take what you can get, work hard, know when to stop, and relax. Stay hungry and fit!
