You can do anything you set your mind to. I used to think that people who said that were crazy. Everyone is different. Some people are short, some people are tall. Some people are naturally thin, some people have steadier hands than others.
I used to think people who said this were crazy because, in my head, the phrase “you can do anything” always meant that anybody who tried something could be the best at it, succeed at it, make tons of money at it. And I knew that was unrealistic. And because of that, I was deterred from trying things I knew I was not going to be the best at. I avoided sports I’m too short or too slow for. I joked about being bad at drawing or singing or having bad flexibility. I actively did not practice something if I thought I’d fall out of, say, a yoga pose.
But I realize now that doing anything you set your mind to doesn’t mean you’ll be the best at it. And that’s okay. We all have something we can be the best at. Maybe not the best in the entire world, but the best in our own little world. And there are things we can do well but not be amazing at and still enjoy.
So today I took a yoga class, and I fell out of some kind of triangle pose about a million times. This year I practiced decorating cookies and changed the consistency of the frosting until I liked it instead of getting frustrated and walking away. I rolled my pie dough out a few times and told myself there’s nothing genetic about getting a prettier pie. I accepted my fate after missing a whole step in a recipe and used it as a learning tool. I stopped myself from saying I’ll never be able to sew an entire dress by thinking about how it doesn’t have to be perfect or even close. Baby steps are key.
You can do anything you put your mind to. You can do it. But you don’t have to be perfect at everything you set your mind to.