I always thought to be someone of value that I had to become an expert in one area. This notion kept me from doing many things, because I knew I wouldn’t ever have a long enough attention span to become great in that one area. After years of feeling worthless, I one day just realized and accepted the fact that I would never be a world renowned expert. This acceptance freed me to step forward. I began to embrace the fact that I am a DABBLER!
I like to start new projects, lots of them. In fact, the excitement & enthusiasm of starting a new project is one of my favorite feelings. In those beginning moments I feel like I can accomplish anything. I am on top of the world. Being excited about life & trying new things is one of the greatest benefits of being a dabbler. We have great life experiences, memories, stories, & pictures to prove it! Dabblers are definitely not boring & people envy our enjoyment of life.
Here are some tips to embrace being a dabbler, and to learn how to deal with misconceptions you may run into.
- When you try new things, don’t give up just because others can do it better than you. Learning a new skill takes practice, effort, and time.
- If you try something and don’t like it, that’s a good thing. Some times knowing what you don’t like is more helpful than knowing what you do.
- Each endeavor you try is a learning experience: creating handmade earrings teaches you something different than taking a cooking class or training to run a marathon.
- Everything in life is a tradeoff. If you become an expert you sacrifice missing out on other things. If you dabble then you miss out on being the top of the class. When you feel down about not being an expert, look through old pictures & remember the great memories that you have made in the past through your enjoyment of life.
- You can be a person of value to someone else by loving them, cheering them up, or offering encouragement. Life is about relationships. “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.”― Maya Angelou
- Whether you dabble in two hobbies or six, know that every hobby requires discipline and patience. Try to focus on one at a time, so that you can give each hobby the attention it deserves.
- Find mentors or teachers in whatever hobby you are currently exploring. They will save you a lot of time and heartache by teaching you the correct way to do something and keep you from making mistakes.
- Create a bucket list, and find enjoyment from crossing things off the list.
- Don’t compare yourself to others; you are living your own life in your own way. “Comparison is the thief of Joy”.
- Keep challenging yourself in new areas of disciplines & continue to be a well-rounded opportunist!
Dabble on my friends!