Why It's Okay to Feel Foolish on Your Path to Mastery
In life, it's easy to hold back from trying new things or taking on challenges because we're afraid of looking inexperienced or making mistakes. Sometimes, we even catch ourselves comparing our skills to those of experts and feel like we're falling short.
A post shared by Ashok Tankala | Leadership and Executive Coach | Ex-CTO (@ashoktankala)
A few days ago, my wife showed me an incredible portrait drawn by an Instagram influencer. She said, "Look, mine aren't as good as this – his work is amazing! What I am doing" So, I asked her to find his very first portrait, which was done a couple of years back and tell me what she thought of it. She admitted it was good, but not as great as his recent work.
Then I said, "Imagine if he didn't work on improving because of the mistakes he made back then or if he constantly compared himself to other experts. He wouldn't have come this far and become a master in his field." The truth is, it's perfectly okay to make mistakes, to feel foolish, or to appear inexperienced.
When I look at the code I wrote when I had only one year of experience, I can't help but laugh at it. But you know what? I don't laugh at myself. I appreciate all those mistakes and efforts because they shaped me into who I am today.
So give yourself permission to make mistakes, to feel foolish and to be inexperienced. Keep practicing, keep learning and keep improving. One day, you'll look back and realize just how much better you've become. 🌟