Have you ever experienced this? A time when the possible feeling of humiliation outweighed your willingness to learn something new. Looking back on my life, I think we go through seasons of letting our ego or uncertainty guide our actions. Remember when you were a little kid, and someone would say, “Who here is an artist?” and every child in the class would raise their hand, ready and willing to display their imaginative talents?

What Season Are You In?

Then, somewhere along the way to adulthood, a teacher, classmate, or parent tells you that trees aren’t purple, and your confidence gives way to a bruised ego or what you hear as criticism. Suddenly, you shy away from attempting something new because it is too uncomfortable. It leaves you in the season where you stand on the sidelines, sitting out on any opportunity to expand your horizons.

With any luck at all, you manage to get through those years of caring what other people think and gather some steam back up in the self-belief department, which leads to not giving a damn how good you are at something. You are not worried about being a beginner. You don’t care if you don’t nail the “new thing” right out of the gate. You are more interested in learning. You are taking on something new, exciting, and adventurous. And thus, you step into the season of authenticity when you are comfortable in your skin. You start feeling more peaceful and content; freedom comes down with generous grace.

So, let yourself be uncomfortable. That’s where the magic is.