The Simple Truth About Learning That Took Me Years to Accept

Growing up, I believed I was not meant to do something if I wasn’t naturally good at it.

As a teenager, I loved making flash games — the kind students played in the computer lab when the teacher wasn’t looking.

I focused on art and design, while kids I met in online forums handled the coding. I avoided learning to code because I didn’t know where to start, thought I wasn’t smart enough, and assumed it would take too much time.

My excuses were endless.

I delayed learning a rewarding skill that I still use to this day, all because I didn’t permit myself to be bad. To suck. To struggle through the discomfort.

Most of us quit things or don’t even start because we feel like we are miles behind and will never be good. Or we fear looking bad in front of others. We self-sabotage because learning doesn’t feel like growth — it feels like struggle and frustration.

Growth is rarely fun. It’s awkward and uncomfortable, like a teenager going through puberty.

Think for a second. Have you ever looked back on your childhood and wondered how time flew by so quickly?

We do this all the time. Hold on to that feeling whenever you’re in the trenches, struggling to become smarter, stronger, or faster. Soon, you’ll look back proudly at all the obstacles you overcame.

The only way to get good is to be bad. So embrace it.