The Joy in Not Mastering Something

Some time has passed since we have shared a new blog, which makes this month's topic so relevant to bringing it back. Sometimes the hardest part of doing something again or trying something new is accepting that we might be a little rusty or not very good at it. We might make mistakes or stumble. We may never truly master it.

And maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Let’s start with a question, “When was the last time you did something you were genuinely bad at or had not mastered?” A second question may be, "Must you master everything you try do?"

As kids, we do things we are bad at all the time. We draw pictures that look nothing like what we intended. We pick up musical instruments and make sounds that chase people out of the room. We miss the ball, forget the dance steps, and tell jokes that make no sense, yet, we do not stop trying and we keep going.

Somewhere along the way, many of us got more careful when it came to trying something new or to do anything at which our mastery level may be questioned. We fear judgment.  We fear our inner critic.  We fear being laughed at. As adults, we end up spending our time doing things we know how to do. There are any number of reasons for this to happen. At work, co-workers appreciate it when we know what we are doing. There are bills to pay, responsibilities to manage, and people counting on us.

Unfortunately, our focus on competence can take over the rest of our lives. We start deciding what we will and will not try based on whether we think we will be good at it or at the very least, not get laughed at too much.

We have probably all heard people say the following or similar things or maybe we have said them ourselves:

“I cannot draw.”

“I have no rhythm.”

“I am terrible at languages”

“I could never get onstage.”

We say these things as though being bad at something is a perfectly good reason not to do it or we can only do things we will eventually master. In the end, what we “cannot do” becomes part of our story and our identity.

But what do we miss when we only do the things we already know how to do or will only do things we intend to master?

There is freedom in doing things you may find fun but are not great at. You get to ask questions. You get to experiment, make mistakes, and discover things without already knowing where you are supposed to end up. You can focus on the joy of being imperfect.

This is an improv blog so guess what comes next, improv gives us a lot of practice with accepting we are not perfect.

When you walk into an improv class for the first time you probably won't know exactly what you are doing. At some point you may find yourself pretending to be a pirate, a dentist, a talking animal, or something completely different. You might say something that goes nowhere. You might completely misunderstand an exercise. You might start a scene with a brilliant idea only to discover that someone else has another brilliant idea that takes the scene in a completely new direction.

And you know what? You will be fine.

In fact, some of the biggest laughs in an improv class come from moments that did not go according to plan. You learn to recover and to stop judging every idea before you say it. You learn that making a mistake does not have to stop you. Sometimes those mistakes give you somewhere more interesting to go.

We have probably all internalized a message like everyone has to be bad at something before they can become good or great at it. And that's true. Nobody starts out as an expert.

However, that idea assumes a destination where being bad is just a stage we go through on our way to mastering a new skill. I am not sure that is the message we need to take away from this kind of thinking.

What if we learn that mastering something is not necessarily the point?

Recently, Adam Tucker, a current Blue Door player and former Artistic Director, was interviewed (Go read the entire thing, it is great) by our friends at SPLAT. Something he said stuck with me and inspired this blog. He said,

“I don’t think you have to become a master in order for your work to be worthwhile.”

I love that idea, because it challenges something we do not always question, which is why does getting good have to be the goal?

We live in a culture that likes continuous improvement. We set goals and then track our progress in achieving them. We are on a quest to become an expert in anything we do. Even our hobbies can start to feel like things we should master and monetize. Run faster. Paint better. Learn more songs. Take the advanced class. People may even say you are good at your hobby and should try to monetize it.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve. Getting better at something can be very rewarding and uplifting.

However, Adam's observation points to something that can be easy to forget. What we create has value before we have mastered the craft or even if we never do.

You can paint mediocre landscapes and love every minute of it. You can dance and never once think you want to audition for something. You can play three songs badly on a guitar for the rest of your life. You can take an improv class without any intention of ever stepping onto a stage. The act of doing something, with all the enjoyment, creativity, and curiosity we have, is already worthwhile.

Not everything we do has to be made into a big accomplishment.

Sometimes the value in what we do is in the curiosity, laughing at ourselves, or creating something just for the sake of creation. The value is in spending an hour doing something that has nothing to do with our productivity.

The gifts of not mastering something could simply be there is no pressure to perform, and we just get to enjoy playing again.

As an example, the BDT front staff created a team called Staff Infection. We are not improvisers or performers. A few of us have taken classes but not all of us. We put it together to have fun and we did. We have performed at Cage Match and Late Laughs. We are not practicing every week to become improv experts nor are we seeking to win a title. We want to have fun and from people's reactions to us, our joy and sense of adventure is picked up by the audience. We love that. The picture above is three of our team members performing during this year's Cage Match.

The BDT offers you a challenge. Find something you are not very good at and do it anyway.

Draw something. Try a dance class. Write a poem. Learn three chords. Try improv (you knew this would be here).

If something brings you joy or sparks your curiosity, maybe that is what makes it worthwhile.

You might get better or maybe not. It does not matter. Just imagine, doing something because you just have a really good time doing it.