“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10,000 times.” – Bruce Lee
What defines being “good”? To me, being good at something definitely takes a lot of skill. You can even be good at doing the wrong things. Anyone can get good if they don't make the same mistake twice. You can practice your kick a thousand times, but if you keep doing it wrong, you're not getting any better. Learn from your mistakes and improve your skill. One thing that defines good is the ability to do something better than someone else. Another thing could be just doing it. Get out there and do it. And you'll be “good.”
The problem I have is that I want to do everything (eg Design, Programming, Art, Writing). I do feel like the man Bruce Lee mentioned as doing 10,000 kicks once. I get good at each different kicks, but I don't get great at any one of them. Is this a good thing? Maybe.
Following my passion has made me a well-rounded person. I try everything at least once. Well, anything that doesn't cause harm to myself or others, that is. My skills in design has improved in the last two years but my programming skills have suffered. My writing has improved but my drawing have suffered. There's a lot of give and take when you're learning. Your brain can only process a finite amount of information.
I've had more failures than successes in life. I make a lot of mistakes that have helped me improve. I don't let the failures keep me down. I keep improving my skills and not let perfection get in the way.
I may not know everything, and I may not be great at one thing, but I do know I'm happy—and that's great!
Featured Illustration was done for the poem “Full Metal Hanuman” by Bryan Thao Worra. The poem won best poetry on Strange Horizons.
Connect with me on twitter @ArtofNor.