Something landed in my inbox this week that hit me and I asked for permission to share it here. This beautiful reminder is from Lea Bayles and I encourage you to stop by her website and get on her list by requesting her “30 Second Calm” video.
“Better to do it badly than not to do it at all,” my Qigong teacher reminds us.
How liberating!
Similar to “better done than perfect” and even more useful for some situations - like learning something new.
For those of us who, on some level, irrational as it may be, still have mental remnants of the impossible idea that we should be good at anything we try –
OR for those of us who hear the inner warning “If it’s worth doing, it's worth doing right” –
TO KNOW we can start something and not only be imperfect but actually be BAD at it can be reassuring, freeing and give us permission to play and have lots more fun exploring life as a creative process.
“Better to do it badly than not to do it at all,” is of course not good advice for a brain surgeon, or for any surgeon or, ok, let’s say anyone who claims to be an expert. Anyone we’re counting on to fix our brains, hearts, cars or heat pumps should know their stuff and be consistently excellent! Yep.
However, in the case of doing a simple Qigong routine - even if you don't remember it all, even if your mind is wandering, even if you don't have time for the whole thing, even if you get some of it “wrong”, you can still get lots of benefits.
What things in your life even done badly might give you good results and/or give you a good time trying?
So many things! Most exercise, meditation, games, hobbies, art forms, to name a few.
Pick one and just give it a go.
Just play with it. Have fun being bad at it.
And hit reply and me know how BTDIBTNTDIAA (as my teacher calls it) feels for you.
Believing in You,
Lea
PS Want compassionate, wise support in releasing worn out stories and mental habits so you can more fully love the life you live? Reach out to me at lea@leabayles.com and let me know and we’ll hop on a call to chat.