This is the power of letting yourself suck at things

This is the power of letting yourself suck at thingsThis is the power of letting yourself suck at thingsThere is a real power in letting yourself suck. Think about those words. Its hard in this society that worships and promotes fake perfectionism but Maxie McCoy, career expert and author of the new book Youre Not Lost, says letting yourself do things you absolutely know you are going to fail at is the only way to find your career path. But once you let yourself do that, there will be so much freedom.We have to believe we can get better at things. If our skills are static then the only thing that can happen is a potential loss, but if we let ourselves suck at things it will energize us in a new way, she told Ladders. What energizes us isnt aways going to be stuff were good at. If were stuck in this perfectionist mindset, were never going to get there. You will never step into the unknown and stepping into your path requires doing the unknown. Theres a lot of freedom in knowing I can get better at thingsMcCoy recalls trying surfing a few years back and being so energized by abandoning the thought that she should be able to do this perfectly right at the start was quite invigorating. She pointed to acclaimed director Ava Duvernay not even picking up a camera until age 33 and also sucking at first. But eventually she got better and now she is directing blockbuster films starring Oprah and Reese Witherspoon. She sucked and look at where she got. If youre not willing to suck youre not gonna get anywhere, said McCoy.But you do have to have the confidence that you will come out the other end no matter how many times you fall down. Thats really the foundation of Youre Not Lost, says McCoy. She emphasizes to readers that they should not focus on the big picture. You dont reach your goal by deciding what the exact destination will be, you find the direction, she told Ladders. You dont have to have it all figured it out. You just have to tap into the belief in yourself. T hat will keep creating the path. And one of the ways to do this is to find one thing, even if it is very small, that will energize you and most likely that means something you arent perfect at already.Here is an excerpt from Youre Not Lost all about embracing the fear.Mistakes baby, mistakesNo doubt, youre gonna screw up. Its a by-product of taking action which is required to build your confidence. Trust me when I say, there will be plenty of missteps.You might accidentally send out a test emaille to your entire subscriber list, announcing the launch of your business that isnt launched yet. (Me.)You might have to redo deliverables because you didnt full read the terms of a contract. (Me.)You might plan a major press event at an all-womens club and realize only hours before its supposed to begin that they key people coming are men and not allowed in. (Unfortunately, me.)Youll spell things wrong. Youll quote things wrong. Youll say things wrong. Youll do things completely wrong. Youll get frustrated. Youll say things you didnt mean. Youll overreact.But those mistakes arent signs you shouldnt be doing this. Not at all. These mistakes are signs that youre trying and learning and growing. All mistakes are practice. The forced errors are signs of effort. Whether they were small ones, major ones, or deal-breaker ones, theyll keep happening to teach you something. Your fear will make them seem way bigger than they are. But the truth of a mistake is that you were trying and your resilience will bring you back from al the shit feelings to keep you keeping on.Remember, theres no way to learn what youre capable of unless youre testing your limits and making mistakes.