The Lazy Genius Podcast - #68: The Lazy Genius Tries New Things

Episode Date: June 18, 2018

In this last episode of the summer, I share the gift of trying new things. We're often afraid of failing, but if we fail to build up our Try New Things muscle, those new things we so desperately long for will be harder to find. Hear what I'm working on this summer, what new things have entered my life, and why this summer break is part of that. I hope you try some new things, too! This podcast is hosted by Kendra Adachi and executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi everyone. You're listening to The Lazy Genius Podcast. I'm Kendra and I'm here to help you be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. Today's episode is number 68. The Lazy Genius tries new things. It's going to be short and sweet and I hope that by the end you're encouraged to explore your own new thing. This is actually the last episode of the summer. I'll be back on Monday, August the 6th with new episodes. But last year, I'm a last year. I'm a last episode of the summer. I'll be back on Monday, August 6th with new episodes. But last year, I took a few weeks off during the summer and it was such an important step I didn't know that I needed. So rather than look at that time as like a fun thing that happened that once, I'm building it into our time together this year too. If you are new here, I hope you go back and listen to some older episodes and feel encouraged in lots of ways over your summer. But I wanted to tell you a little bit about what my summer will look like and why I, part of why I'm taking a break again, I'm doing two super new things and I want to bring you along with me. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen me posting about the 100-day project. It's an informal but lovely Instagram challenge where you do something creative for 100 days. I've watched one of my favorite follows, Elise Joy.

She's great on Instagram if you want to follow her. She's done her 100-day project for a couple of years, and it's always so inspiring. But I'm not super crafty. I don't get a lot of joy out of creating things that are visible. But this year, I thought I'd try something new. I've always been fascinated with watercolors. I even took a watercolor class a few years ago at a local community center, but I didn't really stick with it.

So when the 100-day project rolled around, I really wanted to, I honestly wanted to bake something every day for 100 days because baking is my lifeblood. But it felt incredibly daunting to my time and my budget to make that kind of commitment to bake something every single day. Instead, I decided to do 100 days of watercolor baking. Today is day 77. y'all. I have been painting donuts and cakes for 77 days. That's amazing. But here's the thing about new things. I usually don't try them. To my own disadvantage, I'm on team. Don't try something new unless you'll be great at it. Anybody else like that? I didn't play sports in school because I knew I wasn't great. I quit the debate team because I wasn't the best debater at my school and I didn't want to be embarrassed by not being the best. I never learned a roller skate because I fell a few times when I was first learning. like everybody does, and I decided it wasn't for me, is like a third grader. I'm not great at failing.

So for most of my life, I would resist putting myself in any new situation where failure might happen. That is no way to live, y'all. And I didn't want my inexperience with watercolor to keep me from trying something new. It was like dipping my toe into the waters of failure, especially since I share those paintings every day on Instagram. some I have loved. Others I would like to burn. But I hear that's how it is with creativity. Who know? You have to make a lot of crap for good to come out. Which leads me to one of the reasons we're taking a break this summer. I'm writing a book proposal, which I've mentioned before. Y'all, it is so exciting and it's also terrifying because it's new. I've never written a book proposal before. And then a book proposal leads to writing a book, which I've definitely never done before.

I've thought about it for years, but it's still incredible. new. I think if I had just jumped into the process a couple of years ago, I'd feel differently about it now. I wouldn't be as willing to try something so huge and so new. But I've been practicing new things in tiny ways. This 100 days of watercolor baking has been a stepping stone that I didn't really know that I needed. Even the bad paintings teach me something that makes the next one better. The same is true of all new things. Trying something new. Trying something new. even if you're terrible gives you the courage to try a new thing you actually do care about that you do want to do well. I don't want to spend the hours and hours and hours it takes to

write a book just to have it be me, you know, and I care about you too much to let that happen because this book is for you. Still, trying other new things in a completely different area of life. It kind of gives me courage to try the new thing that matters a lot. So what about you? Is there a new skill or a new adventure or a new project you want to pursue, but you just haven't? You could be afraid or nervous for a variety of reasons. Maybe you feel like you don't have the time or the money or help with your kids to make it happen the way you want it to happen. If that's the case, which sometimes that's legitimate, think of something you can do that's either like adjacent to what you want or completely different and do a little. bit every day, or at least most days. Practice trying something new. I firmly believe that we get better at risk the more we try it. There's more to life than finding the perfect car, but finding the perfect car can help you get the most out of life, like the SUV that handles everything from drop off to off road, and the car that hulls groceries and hockey teams, or the van that's

gone from just practical to practically family. Whatever you want, Wherever you're going, start your search at ototrater.ca, Canada's car marketplace. Aw isn't something we need to travel for, it's something waiting for us in everyday life, whether in a city street or a moment with a work of art. I'm Dacker Keltner, host of the Science of Happiness podcast. Join me for Cities of Aw, a special series on how our public spaces can spark awe, wonder, and enhance the quality of public life. You can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts. Some people are certainly wired, better for new experiences more than other people,

but folks who are naturally into new things also build up their try new things muscle quicker than the rest of us. We just have to see that everything turns out totally fine if we try something new and it flops. We're not going to burst into flames. We don't lose all of our friends. We don't have to move to a new place where no one knows us because the embarrassment is just too great. You know, like we work ourselves up sometimes to believe that failing leads to a worst case scenario. But if we put ourselves in the position anyway, we quickly see that that is just not true. I, okay, so I was so nervous to post my watercolors on Instagram. There are several I can think of right now that I wish we're not in

that 100-day highlight on my profile. They're just so bad. Oh my gosh. But guess what? Guess what? Nobody died. No one is raking me over the coals for posting an average to terrible painting. What it has done is help us all see that trying is the key. Trying the new skill, the different genre of book that you read, the recipe that is intimidated you for such a long time, the major lifelong dream that seems ridiculous, but it feels so essential to your very being that you can't ignore it. Every time you try something new, it lays another brick in that path of trying again. When I think about how I lived most of my life so afraid of new things, because I was really afraid of failing, I think about my own kids.

How heartbreaking it would be to see them not try. I encourage them and love them and help them see that fear is okay, and it doesn't have to keep them from trying the monkey bars or dancing with their friends or reading a book that feels too hard. And I want to offer the same kindness to myself. I want to give myself the same kind of pep talk that messing up is okay. Doing something wrong, it just makes the next try a little easier and better. I can be worried and feel a little afraid and still do it. It's easy to say those things to my kids, but it's harder to say it to myself. Maybe the same is true for you.

So as the summer really begins, is today the actual first day of summer? I think it is. Remember that trying new things is a muscle to develop. If you're scared to try that new thing that really matters, try something that doesn't matter so much. Take the time to build up your muscle if that's what it takes. Or maybe you see that the fear that's keeping you from that new thing isn't worth it. And you're ready to try the important new thing. I would have written a book proposal this summer anyway, but I am so grateful.

I have this watercolor practice to help me see that not every day has to churn out magic. Some days churn out mediocrity. Sometimes even garbage. Some of those paintings, I mean really guys, they just make me cringe. But it's okay. I'm getting better. But more than that, I'm believing that even garbage, even failing is helpful. It's worth it.

It helps me stand taller when I try the next new thing. Like writing a book proposal. The other new thing I'm doing, which doesn't really have a story attached to it, is I am traveling internationally. I'm going to London. I have never bought my own plane ticket before. I have never traveled to another country as like a person who was not on a mission trip at 13 years old. I have never been let loose in a foreign country, even though they do speak English and say, hey, just go do stuff. I'm terrified.

I'm terrified. But I'm also so excited because I'm building my trying to do things muscle. And I can't wait. I can't wait. But that's another reason I need to take some time off because I'm going to be traveling. Follow me on Instagram at the lazy genius. and at some point in July, I'm sure you will see me posing like really weird next to Big Ben or next to those soldiers who aren't supposed to smile.

If I find Prince Harry, you will know. Okay, so I will be back into your podcast feed in about six weeks, but know that I am thinking of you a ton this summer as I write this book proposal for you because really it is for you. I mean, the proposal is for publishers to hopefully decide to pay me to write the book and then publish it, but the book that comes out of this is for you. You guys are my favorite. I love this tribe of lazy geniuses so much.

And I hope that your summer is restful. It is full of connection. And it is full of new things. It all matters, including the failure. That is it for today. And for just a little while. I will still be on Instagram at The Lazy Genius. And I'll send out an email or two this summer.

And I am particularly excited about the one that includes all the books that I read and stuff I watched all summer that I want to recommend or save you from. If you want to join that mailing list to get my list of summer stuff, you can head to the lazy genius collective.com slash join or just click the link in the info section of this episode in your podcast app. I look forward to seeing you back here in August and for sure, for sure, until then, be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. See you soon, guys.

Have you ever felt like you were living just a a B or B plus life, it's so dangerous to live that. More dangerous than a B minus or a C plus life, because when you're living a B or B plus life, you don't change it. You think it's good enough. Is it? I'm Susie Welch. I host a podcast called Becoming You.

People think, okay, an A plus life is not available to me, but there is a way. We are all in the process of becoming ourselves. Listen to Becoming You wherever you get your podcasts.