You think that it is not for you? Because of what?
Ah, this is for girls, and you are not such one? Or this is for young people only, or for those with a certain education, or those who are stronger than you, or have some specific experience…?
There are so many reasons, we can think of, for not doing what we feel inspired to do.
Self-doubt seems to be the human species’ strongest skill, but it is such a skill that we can’t use for anything good. Except, of course, for making us wonder about why we have it. Not bad in itself!
Rationality steps in and we remember all such sayings as “everybody should stick to what they are good at”, basically meaning that nobody should be allowed to develop and become a new person. What a silly idea. Why shouldn’t we try new things and go in new directions every now and then?
Back in October 2022, the famous Linda Caroll wrote an inspiring article on Medium, and when I read it almost a year later, I couldn’t resist running along with the thought. In a way, I was speaking exactly against what she said, but in another way, I was exactly following her thoughts:
Her thoughts were quite clever, and what she said was really that if you write, you are a writer. Don’t believe that you are just an eternal novice who isn’t allowed to use that title. You are a writer if you write. And fully qualified to call yourself that. I took it slightly to an edge, thought, seeing it as an opening for becoming everything, simply because you decide to.
My response:
That's the thing: I keep getting back to this prepper idea, want to make all kinds of things myself, but I don't know how to do it. Can you imagine, I did learn how to knit, back in school. But now I don't remember how. I just remember that I can do it. Which I can't, and that is confusing.
It would be a day! It would be THE day! The day of my life - when I could proudly show that self-knittet sweater to world, step up on the podium for my gold meddle and shout out "I AM A KNITTER!!!" . and the world would cheer and shout back: "You are the knitter - our hero super knitter!"
But now, all I have is the aspiration. And some knitting pins that I have inherited from my late mother. She was a knitter. A real one, who could knit anything. I have her pins - and these pins and my aspiration will one day get me there.
You made my day, Linda Caroll. Not the day of my life, but the day of today. You brought back my half forgotten aspiration of becoming a knitter. And a mechanics, too. Repairing vintage cars and motorcycles. I could do that! I have tools!
For now, I managed to aspire so much for becoming a writer that it brought me there - here - now.
What can you learn from that?
Well, first of all, something peculiar happened here: An article lived for a year before I read it, and now, more than a year later, I still reference it. Some writing has that kind of value. it has different reasons, but when you feel that writing anything on a social medium will be just for the now and quickly forgotten, you can think on this article by Linda Caroll and let it be a reminder for you that words are forever. They may be read long after you wrote them. They matter, and if you are the writer, it means that you matter.
Well, of course you matter. We all do. And what we do matters, simply because it spreads like rings ind the water across the world, leaving traces in the most unexpected places.
For that reason, you shouldn’t hold back due to an idea that nobody cares. As you may have noticed, I am not that optimistic regarding Substack Notes, but that’s a personal thing for me. Maybe my notes will eventually be read, some sunny day in a thousand years by some Internet archeologists trying to figure out who we were and why we did what we did.
But YOU shouldn’t hold back, and in particular not for my reasons, no matter the platform or the type of thing you consider doing. Because, and that’s the second learning from this: You are you!
The revolutionary thought in this is that just like Linda Caroll can say what she feels and get thousands of likes and comments, stretching over years, you can do that too. Because your feelings are special, your skills, aspirations, and ideas on what to do and how and when makes up a completely unique take on the world, which really shouldn’t be wasted.
I have knitting pins. I sometimes wear a sweater and some socks. Whenever I need new socks, why shouldn’t I try to make them myself? If that’s what I want to do. Of course, some other people know much better how to do that, and with enough experience, they can probably do it better and faster than I can. It may even turn out that I can’t; that it is too complicated for me. But I can try.
If I don’t try, and if I always hold back from the idea that everybody should do only what they are good at, then I’ll never find out if I indeed could learn how to knit my own socks.
If I do try, I will, at least, have a story to tell. Maybe also some socks to show :)
In any case, I will have the good feeling of having been true to my dream, having tried, and having allowed myself to do something that will live forever, if not as socks, then at least as rings in the universal waters, forever leaving some kind of impression on the future.
Do you have knitting pins?
Or do you have any other dreams or ideas you are holding back because they are not you?
My advice: do it! Be proud of it, call yourself what you are, and let the world know that this is now you, on top of everything else that is also you.
I love this!! Not long ago I wrote something on a similar vein about calling myself an artist. It’s nonsense to not claim what you love to do! Thanks you.
Beautiful text. I really believe that the worst regrets are based on something we wanted to try and we knew what it was, but still, we didn’t have guts to do it.