From the time I was very young, I have always loved trying, learning and mastering new things. It was such a blessing to have parents that nurtured and encouraged that part of me. I remember my momma putting a needle in my hand at a very early age and teaching me how to cross stitch. I was (and still am) fascinated at how good she is at it! We could be following the exact same pattern and hers always turned out looking so much better! My dad let me "help" him re-roof our house when I was 5. My brother taught me how to make twisted rope friendship bracelets when we were like 7. I think I was about 8 when Dad was repainting his Toyota and he let me run the sander. But that's really just the tip of the iceberg...since then I've added these things to the list:
Quilting
Horseback Riding
Basketball
Clarinet
Woodworking
Spanish
Crazy Quilting
Hand Stamping Metal
Baking Bread
Gardening
Calligraphy
Invitation Design
Guitar
These really are just some of things I've learned how to do over the years. People often ask me how I have learned all of these things and my answer is very simple...I just try it. And then I try it again and again and again and again....well you get the picture...until I finally get it!
PERSERVERANCE IS THE KEY!
I really don't think I'm any more naturally inclined to these things than most people, I just try it and keep at it longer than most.
One of my questions is, what keeps people from trying and learning new things?
Here's just my own personal theory on a few things that hold people back.
1. Fear - fear of failure or disapproval from others.
My take on this is that we shouldn't be afraid to fail because if we do, then we're really just right back where we started but if we succeed...we have totally expanded our whole world! Growing up, people told me often that I wouldn't achieve my goals but I just used that to drive me forward and then I learned how to plug my ears and not listen. As I continued working toward my goals,, the song of triumph became louder than the noise of their pessimism.
2. Complacency - some people don't even have a desire to try and learn something new. I think this is because they have lost their curiosity and made their world small. We settle for watching tv and pinning stuff on Pinterest that we never actually do. The world is so big...there are so many people that do so many amazing things and most of the time, they're even willing to teach you!
3. Excuses - top one: I don't have enough time. Now, don't get me wrong, I think that there are genuinely a few people that really are too busy to take on something new but most of the time there is time in everyone's day to dedicate to learning something new. You will be completely surprised at how just spending 15 minutes a day doing something on a regular basis will totally begin to add up and yield results. And guess what, most of the time you can even practice whatever it is with your favorite show on!
Life never gets old if you keep learning.
Here are more things I hope the good Lord gives me enough time to learn:
Harmonica (I stink at it right now. My dog, Winston goes and hides under the bed when I bring it out, lol, but I'll keep trying!)
Photography - all that shutter speed, lenses and aperture lingo makes my head spin right now
Painting
Mothering (don't know if I'll ever be ready for this one! lol )
Mandolin
And I know there will be new things to add that I will see and want to learn :)
I am so thankful for a sweet husband that not only puts up with all my new endeavors but encourages me and gives me tools to go for my dreams. He's such a blessing!
Are there things in your life that you want to learn? I encourage you to go for it! There is so much information now right at our fingertips that it makes it easy to get started. YouTube is incredible and I've learned countless things from video tutorials. In fact, when I want to learn something, that's usually where I start!
Don't listen to that voice in your head telling you that you can't, it's too much trouble, you don't have enough time, no one cares, etc. Don't listen to the people that will tell you that you can't or that it's dumb. Listen to my voice telling you that you can! You can! And our world needs you to go for it because we don't even know what we're missing out on right now!
Go for it!!
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