You Suck!

So today's thought...I absolutely hate being terrible at things. Most people would agree with me on this, except those who may be machoistic or just weird but they are another subject entirely. I just cannot stand to be a rank beginner in anything, and it's to the point where I'd almost rather not participate or try the activity then face my inabilities/inexperience with it. This came to the forefront last weekend when I attempted snowboarding for the first time (a hilarious event, rest assured. My knees and butt will never be the same). I became so frustrated at one point that I was seriously ready to quit--not because I was not enjoying myself when I was successful, but because I was so tired of not being good at it. My friends (all of whom were rank amaturs with me) and I started taking about it. When did this loathing of beginner-hood set in? When did I go from eagerly attempting (and failing) countless times to this belief that if I am not naturally the best at it then I should not be doing it? Lord knows that if I ever had to learn something complicated like riding a bike now I never would get it, much less walking. I think about guitar, an instrument I have been playing for almost ten years (!). I sucked at guitar, I mean royally sucked for a solid three years. And I'm still not the best but I can find my way around it. What motivated me to stick with it, and where is that motivation now? Are we as a people so absorbed in our own accomplishments that to yield to beginner-hood often loses out to voluntary ignorance? Yup. I am. And it's something I want to consciously lose. I want to be fantastic at sucking. I want to fall on my ass, crash into the tree, wet exit a ton, miss a power chord, hit the wrong note, translate incorrectly and basically embarass myself so that I may one day glide down the mountain, fly over the tree, get that roll, nail that power chord, find that perfect note and have that lively conversation in another language. If we are to be like children, then we must understand that being a master at something is not natural. Sucking is natural. This is gonna hurt right now, but it'll be great later.