The Crepes Story
or How to Get Good at Anything You Want and Be Happy Every Day
While preparing a mix for crepes one morning, I couldn’t find a whisk where I was staying. So, I mixed it the old-fashioned way—using a folk.
As I was doing that, I remembered when I was a little girl and watched my mum do the same. Her whisking was perfect. I wanted to be able to do the same, but when I tried, I couldn’t.
Since then I did a lot of whisking and that morning I could see it was the same: perfect, rhythmical, clockwise whisking and thought: I practised and got good at it. Smooth, no lumps mix that makes the paper-thin crepes.
So why do we often give up before we even get a chance to get better at something?
Maybe you decided that you want to learn how to paint. You buy a course or find a lesson on YouTube, sit at the table with all the supplies around you, and follow the instructions. Only to realise how not great it looks what you’re trying to do. The teacher in the video is so far ahead of you. You get overwhelmed and give up.
Why, as kids, we didn’t give up on learning how to walk or talk yet when we’re adults we decide to give up after just a few first attempts?
“I’m too old to get started. It’s too late. Who am I kidding”?!
Imagine how old you’ll be when you finally can speak Japanese fluently or write a movie script. Do you feel sick in your stomach?
Then think of what Julia Cameron says in her book, The Artist’s Way: You’ll be the same age if you don’t.
When you start doing something new, imagine you are that small kid who just started doing something. Would you criticize her/his first drawing? Or dismiss him/her when s/he tries to say a few words in a foreign language? No, you would praise the kid, right?
Start doing the same for yourself.
Encourage yourself, and celebrate small victories.
As you celebrate small victories and acknowledge yourself, you’ll become more and more confident. You’ll enjoy the process more, you’ll practice more and as a result, you’ll become good at what you do.
Enjoying the practice will help you forget the 10000-hour rule and focus on the now. What matters is finding something you enjoy doing and paying attention to the process. You will experience progress as you go. The result won’t matter as much as you might have thought at the beginning of your journey.
People who easily stay in shape enjoy eating well and exercising. They’re not focused on losing weight. Yes, they’re interested in staying in shape, but they don’t exercise only because of this.
Find what you enjoy and do it often. This is the secret of happiness and living your dream life.
“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway”.
~Earl Nightingale
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