Suck at something

Relish in the feeling of being bad at something you enjoy

I've spent the last few weekends knee deep in renovations on our little narrowboat. This sudden flurry of activity came after I noticed (or couldn't ignore any longer) that a lot of the wooden panelling inside the cabin was starting to show signs of ageing. If there's one thing that is guaranteed when living on a boat, it's that you'll be constantly fixing things..

I started by replacing all the wood that needed to go and refurnishing any that could be saved. This process alone took a great deal of sanding, sawing, clamping, unscrewing, drilling and hammering. But through doing this I found out that I truly love this kind of work. For pretty much my whole life I've only done work with computers, electronics or software. Since a kid, I've been fascinated with electronics. How they are made, how they operate, how they can be broken and of course fixed again. But I've never worked with wood and have definitely never been interested in DIY. Somehow it passed me by as an interest.

But suddenly I'm finding that it's so satifsfying to work on something with my hands. But my god — I'm so bad at it! 

The more I get done on the boat, the more I struggle. But I've found that there is a certain charm in fumbling through tasks, learning as I go. Inevitably making mistakes. YouTube tutorials have become my saving grace, and I've become a regular in Facebook groups, shamelessly asking for advice on what must seem the simplest of tasks.

And the to-do list? It grows with each passing day. From re-sealing windows, fitting a new ceiling, cleaning the water tank and laying new flooring, the tasks ahead are daunting, to say the least. And I'm sure I'll be terrible at every single one of them. I couldn't saw straight to save my life. I got paint all over the floor and myself. I had no idea how to even sharpen a carpenter's pencil. I've broken numerous drill bits and I routinely make things more difficult for myself. But I've come to realise that the joy lies not in perfection, but in the journey of improvement.

I have been here before. Back when I was learning how to make coffee during my so-called "coffee break" from teaching. I had just landed my first barista job in Melbourne. I was given the opportunity to make coffee for a university graduate ceremony. At this point I was so fresh on the path of being a barista that I think I'd had about 5 hours max experience of using an espresso machine. And all of those 5 hours were just practice, so not actually making coffee for people. I was so afraid of my coffee tasting terrible (Melbourne folk are really picky about their coffee!) that nerves got the better of me and I accidentally sprayed an enticing combination of water and milk from the milk pitcher rinser all over a lady's graduation dress. To say she was furious was a bit of an understatement.

I sucked hard on that first shift. But it didn't matter because I was already in love with making coffee and my only focus was on improving. Over the next seven years I worked non-stop to become better. I eventually moved to Tokyo and became a coffee roaster. Opened a coffee shop with my wife. And moved back home to the UK to become a barista trainer for one of the most well-known coffee roasters in the UK. It paid to continue even when my first few steps on the road were so fraught with failure.

So here's to embracing the journey, one imperfect step at a time.

And how about you? What's that one thing you love doing, despite your lack of skill?

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