I know that everyone's answer for "How do I get better at _______?" Is to continue to practice said art or action. But how in the world does anyone work through all the frustration? The crushing sense of "I'll never be good at this." I have tried to write, to draw, to sing, to compose. The only dream I dream is to create something beautiful. But I just can't.
Let me put this as simply as possible:
If you heard a beautiful melody played on a violin, and you went “I want to do that. I want to make beautiful music on a violin,” you would not be surprised if, the first time you picked up a violin, you found yourself making noises that sounded like a cat was in pain.
So you’d learn the violin. Learn the strings, the fingering, how to bow. You’d be proud at the point where you could play “Twinkle twinkle little star” on it. If you stopped there and said “I’ll never be good at this…” well, you’d be right. But you’d be right because you stopped, not because it is impossible to play the violin well.
And if you learned violin and got better and practiced, one day you’d be able to play beautiful music on the violin. You might never be a world-class violinist, but you’d be competent.
You are always allowed to decide it’s too hard or frustrating to carry on with anything. But, mostly, you don’t get to be magically good at something, whether that something is art, medicine, law, ballet, cartography or martial arts. The writing fairy, the painting fairy, the composing fairy, will not descend in the night if you decide that’s what you do, touch their glittering wands to your forehead, and allow you to wake in the morning with all the talents, skills, knowledge and experience you need to be really good.
That’s why everyone’s answer is to practice, to do it, to learn. It’s because the short-cuts are mostly blind alleys. It’s because it’s work. It’s because there really are skills to learn, and you should learn them if you want to be good, whatever it is you hope to do.
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