Forget the Score
Keep on keepin' not stoppin', and don't look back.
You play three bad notes and put the guitar down.
You draw a face, hate the nose, and tear out the page. You miss five easy shots and decide basketball isn’t your thing. You plant a crooked row, burn the bread, or lose your place in a song. The score arrives before the fun has a chance.
Nobody else is keeping that score.
You are the judge, the audience, and the person trying to play.
Our hobbies can take on a life of their own. Sometimes we feel like they have to defend the time we spend on them. We need to “get good” so we can show off to our friends, ourselves, the world. A quiet hour of fun becomes work.
It can be good to care about the result, learn the skills, follow the rules, and finish the work.
A hobby doesn’t have to become proof that you are talented, useful, improving, or worth watching.
It can be one small thing you do just because you like doing it.
There’s something magical about detaching from outcomes and just being yourself.
Play Without Proof
You don't have to be good at anything to be a good person.
Give it a little time, and stop worrying about whether or not you are good enough. You have everything you need ~ right here, right now.
Play the wrong chord. Draw a lopsided cup. Throw the ball and miss the target. Plant an uneven row of flowers. Keep on keepin’ not stoppin’, and don’t look back.
Instruction, practice, and the desire to improve are all useful, that’s true. Life starts to lose its luster when you’re more concerned with progress than you are with enjoying the present moment.
A slow, steady process assures success.
Having a “bad day” doesn’t mean you should stop trying. Give yourself some grace and have faith.
You belong to yourself, and when you get a chance to be that person, do it!
The things we do when no one else is watching, just for ourselves, become the qualities that make up our character.
Stop asking yourself, “What do I need to do? Who do I want to be?”
Just be yourself, forget about keeping score, relax, and allow the universe to deliver you more happiness and joy than you can possibly imagine.