Waiting Until We’ve Learned “Enough”

Even the greatest violinist can always get better. There’s no limit to the amount we can learn nor the level of mastery we can attain.

And yet, how many times do we wait until we feel like we’ve learned enough, making “enough” into an unachievable goal, a constantly moving destination that can never be reached?

Sometimes, we do this as a form of self-protection. If we’re never good enough to get noticed, we can’t get ___ (ridiculed, killed, famous, successful) for doing this work.

Sometimes, we do it from a space of self-judgment. We demand perfection from ourselves, often as a result of childhood programming.

Sometimes, we feel as if we need more credentials. More credibility. More external validation.

Whatever the reason, it’s time to stop holding ourselves back. It’s time to release the resistance and embrace our gifts—even as we become ever greater at using them. After all, even the greatest violinist continues to practice. And in practicing our gifts, we find our greatest joy. 

We don’t want first-year medical students performing surgery on us. But at some point, surgeons-in-training need to start doing surgeries. Writers need to write. Singers need to sing. Computer coders need to code.

We hone our skills by doing. We must give ourselves permission to be good enough. We must acknowledge our own readiness.