On Improving

I'll let Jake summarize the idea for you.

I was training for a run with a friend. It was after sunset in the parking lot at work. It was a nice, if slightly muggy, summer evening. We had just finished running sprints back-and-forth across the parking lot and, between breaths, he said:

"You know how you get good at running fast? Run fast".

You know how you get good at cooking good meals? Cook bad meals.

You know how to play your music well? Play crappy.

You know how to write well? Write poorly.

No one is good at anything the first time they try it. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying or was coached from a very young age.

You're going to suck at it at first. That's okay. That's expected, even. In fact, we'd all be a little worried if you just picked it up and mastered every part of it.

No. You're going to suck. Then you're going to get better. Keep getting better until you don't suck. Eventually, you get awesome.

Spoiler - there will be plateaus along the way. When you hit those, find what's stopping you from improving. Attack it. And resume your climb to the top.

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