One of the hardest things to do in life is to keep going when you know you just suck at something. 

For some of us, it’s getting to the gym. For others, it may be meal prepping.

For me, it’s been blogging. 

If you look at the history of my posts, it’s been multiple months since I’ve posted anything. So if sucking at something new resonates with you, I’m there too. And I know how hard it is to keep going. 

At first, life got busy and overwhelming (we had multiple large kitchen appliances fail). After that, it was the holidays. Even when I had the time to sit down and write again, I had this overwhelming feeling that I sucked too badly at blogging to start again. 

In fact, it’s why I’ve decided on a post like this. It’s what I needed to pick it back up again. I also want to be here to encourage you to do the same. Whether it’s a lifestyle change or a dream you’ve wanted to try, I’m here with some points to get you back on your feet instead of wondering what could’ve happened had you stuck with it.

EVERYONE STARTS SOMEWHERE

If you’re anything like me, when you start out doing something knew you want to learn from the pros. The ones who make you go “man, they really know what they’re doing!”.

I absolutely LOVE soaking up all of their knowledge so I can hopefully not suck at this thing. 

Here’s a confession. I’ve done this too much. So much so that every time I see what they are doing, I feel like I can never compare. 

“My blog will never have that many followers”.

“I could never write an Instagram caption that brings that many likes”.

And on and on. 

What I’ve had to realize is that I’m looking at them when they are much farther down the road than I am. They’ve already been at this starting out phase, and are much farther along in their journey. 

Everyone starts somewhere. 

You may look at others at the gym and wish you were as fit as them. Well, I’m here to tell you they used to not be that way! You may be seeing someone after YEARS of working out. To compare yourself to them as you are now is not fair to you. 

You may see others post meal prepping pictures of their entire counter filled with containers, while you barely have room in your fridge for another thing of ketchup. They also had to take the time to learn the easiest process for them to do that. Multiple weeks of practice have helped them prep a whole week at once. 

Now, this isn’t to discourage you. 

You might be asking, “if it takes that long, why even try?”

With every baby step you take to get better at something, I can guarantee you that someday you will think back and say “I used to suck at that, but its easier now!” 

Those baby steps can seem like mountains right now. I know the fear of failure can be a big one for me too. I think most of us know this, but I want to make sure you do:

FAILURE IS HOW YOU LEARN

Yup. I said it. 

While failure is terrifying, it’s also the best way to learn. If you can’t tell, I’m also preaching to myself here. 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve missed a snatch, clean, or frankly just bombed a workout. I almost always end up a couple of meals short on my meal prepping. And last but certainly not least, I’m running around in circles trying to figure out the best way to do this blogging thing. 

While it’s never fun to admit to myself I could’ve done something better, I’ve been working to focus on these moments as learning opportunities. 

Focusing on the fact that I failed will never get me anywhere. Embracing the failure and learning from it is what will take me places. 

Whatever is it that you’re trying to not suck at, each new lesson will help you get to the point where you don’t feel like you suck at it anymore. 

And if you’re learning, you’re growing!

Growing a little each day will soon add up over time. Consistency is key here. 

It’s those baby steps I mentioned earlier. After enough baby steps, you’ve traveled farther than you ever realized while you were walking. 

There’s one more thing that is super important here. Learning from the pros is a good way to get started, but there’s more too it than just doing what they do. 

YOU DO YOU

Everyone brings something different to the table.

That pro you’ve been following may do things in a way that doesn’t entirely work for you in every aspect. 

Guess what.

That’s ok!

You shouldn’t feel like you’re failing because it doesn’t work out for you exactly as it does for them. 

In trying not to suck at this blogging thing, I’ve been overwhelmed with the expectations of how often to blog, how often to post to social media, and all of these “YOU MUST DO THIS TO BE SUCCESSFUL” things that I’ve been bombarding myself with. 

I’ve come to realize my blog is going to be different simply because I’m not the same as this person over there, and this one over there.

Sure, I am taking principles that they are teaching and showing me so I can learn, but trying to do everything exactly as they do has only made me set unrealistic expectations on myself. So much so, that it was overwhelming to do anything. 

I’ve come to realize I just need to be me. Imperfect me. 

I won’t lie and say that’s not terrifying (imposter syndrome anyone?!?). But I do believe over time it will get easier. 

All of this to say, I’m ready to get over the fear of sucking at something new. And I hope you are too! If you’ve put something down because you think you will never get better, I want to encourage you to pick it up and try again. 

Don’t be afraid of failure, or being yourself. Be willing to learn and grow, however imperfect that is.