MEN, GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO SUCK AT SOMETHING As you probably know over the past 3 months or so my wife and I have been completely renovating our house. We’re getting all done so when we finally retire in a couple years we won’t have anything more to do. And as we’ve worked on it I’ve been realizing something which is that one of the weirdest things about getting older is that you become increasingly reluctant to do anything you're not already good at. When you're eight?  You'll grab a skateboard having absolutely no idea what you're doing. Fall six times. Bleed. Get back on. By 45? Somebody suggests pickleball and suddenly you're conducting a risk assessment because adults hate looking incompetent but eventually you get on the court And when you’re 63 like I am now, and tearing out all the sheetrock in your home only to find whoever the dumb fuck was who ran the plumbing and electrical lines when the house was built 40 years ago had no idea what he was doing… Well that’s when you call in a plumber and electrician to fix it. Could I have done it sure. But I probably would have screwed up even worse than the previous guy did so… The fact is we men can be particularly bad about this because we're supposed to know things. We’re supposed to fix things. Figure things out. So walking into something and admitting: I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing… Can feel surprisingly uncomfortable. But you do it anyway. ·      Take guitar lessons. ·      Learn woodworking. ·      Try golf. ·      Take a cooking class. ·      Learn another language. ·      Go kayaking. ·      Try boxing. ·      Learn photography. ·      Build something. ·      Paint something. ·      Grow something. Just don’t try to reroute the electric and plumbing lines unless you actually have a clue how they’re supposed to be run cause there's an excellent chance you're going to be terrible at it and well. That’s not something you should be messing around with And that's the point. There are some things you should try to get done but most things well the only thing holding you back is you. Your first guitar chord might sound like somebody stepped on a cat. Your first woodworking project may technically qualify as lumber disposal. Your first golf swing could endanger people on an entirely different hole. Who cares? Nobody starts good. The guys who make something look effortless usually spent years looking ridiculous before you ever saw them doing it. And honestly as I’ve worked on the reno I discovered there's something healthy about being a beginner again. You have to listen to learn. You have to ask questions. Make mistakes. And laugh at yourself. Then one day something that was impossible six months ago suddenly feels easy. And let me tell you that's a damn good feeling. Look, you don't have to become great at everything you try. You don't even have to stick with everything. Sometimes the entire payoff is discovering well apparently I hate pottery. Or the only thing I’m capable of doing with electrical wiring is shocking myself silly. Excellent bro.. Now you know. But don't let embarrassment keep shrinking the number of things you're willing to experience. You're not too old. You're not supposed to already know how. And nobody whose opinion matters expects you to be good on day one. So go be terrible at something. Then come back tomorrow... and suck a little less. #MenNeedToBeHeard #TrySomethingNew #MensLife #NeverStopLearning #MensMotivation #KeepGrowing #Men