Here are my quitting dates.

  • In 2018 I quit learning how to paint when I decided to take a crack at a self-portrait. I was going for realism. It ended up looking like a Picasso piece but without any of the skill, thought, or intentionality.
  • In 2019 I tried extreme couponing until I saw the amount of math involved. I hate math.
  • In 2020 I quit sewing once I realized I had to measure stuff. I really hate math.
  • In 2023 I was determined to be a full time artist. I dropped that once I saw how long it would take someone with no formal training to achieve that level of greatness.

Instead of understanding and even appreciating time, I hated it. Time was holding me back from achieving everything I wanted to accomplish in, what I felt, was a reasonable amount of time. The consequence?

I am a master at nothing and barely passable at most things. Now, I find myself back in the beginners seat for skills I could have mastered if I would have just been a little more patient.

Not all Hobbies are Skills

Keep in mind, there is a difference between wanting to just do a hobby and wanting to improve at something. Not all hobbies are skills worth improving. It is perfectly fine to enjoy painting and not worry about whether your paintings come out magnificent or scrawled. The point of hobbies is to have fun and the pressure to get better at said hobby should be significantly less than the joy you gain from it.

However, there are hobbies, skills, and talents that many of us wish to improve. Maybe that’s a business plan or a second stream of income. For many it could be weight loss or learning how to cook. No matter what it is there are plenty parts of our lives that we would like to see improved in one way or another.

But here’s the truth.

The Truth

If you don’t have enough time, you won’t have enough progress. Time and progress work together and it is problematic, and sometimes dangerous, to try to separate the two. If only I would have submitted to time and learned to enjoy the process of learning, failing, and figuring-it-out, I would have found success in my hobbies. By success I mean significant improvement. There is no arrival when it comes to anything because there is always something that can be learned.

The more time you give something, the more that knowledge base grows. And here lies the issue.

Those who don’t want to work with time will either ignore it (quit) or cheat time (scam).

Fast Fame

As someone who knows how to crochet, I can tell when someone has just started learning based on some of their projects. I love to see baby crocheters creating projects and finding satisfaction in completing these small beginner projects. What I do not like, is seeing those same beginner projects being sold at markets for 2-3x the price it is worth.

The issue is not with selling the product. The issue is with selling a product that was not given the time and dedication that intermediate to advanced crochet artists have put into their work. I have seen these same crochet artists get upset that consumers do not want to buy their merchandise at the price point set when the average consumer can tell that the proper time was not placed on this craft.

There are countless examples of impatience plaguing our community. Eager influencers who learn a few tips on weight loss and make the quick turnaround to become weight loss coaches without the proper education or credentials. Young singers trying to make it big on televised singing contests with the only feedback being their mother’s maternal praise finding out that singing is more of a skill than it is a talent. New photographers buying the most expensive cameras and learning a few camera tricks immediately charging professional level prices for poor work. When you don’t respect time, you can hurt both yourself and others trying to sell something you never studied and being someone you never trained to be.

We need to get back to respecting time and consistency.

These fundamental life principles are not our enemy. They work with us!

The Benefits of Time

I would be lying if I said I didn’t understand the itch to reach a goal as quickly as possible with as little discomfort as possible. I do.

Like I really, really do.

So if you detest time the same way I did, let me change your perception.

Time allows us grace

Grace, that is very much needed when you are guaranteed to fail at whatever you are trying to learn. It’s inevitable. If you are a beginner, you are going to make mistakes simply because you don’t know any better. Time allows us the grace to make those mistakes without the pressure of quick perfection.

Time improves us

You want to know why I always say the oldest child gets the short end of the stick? It’s because we (yes I am a fellow oldest) get the worse version of our parents. We get the beginner, young, and “figuring it out as we go” parents. My parents are amazing, but I will always be their first experience. So I experienced all their first mistakes. There’s a reason our parents seem to be more calm, patient, and emotionally regulated by the time they get to that last one. Time improves us, even when we don’t realize it. Why do jobs put emphasis on experience? They understand the benefit of time. The more time behind your belt, the more experiences you have had, and the more advanced you are at your skill.

Time produces character

There is a reason more respect is given to the individual who worked for what they have versus the person who was given everything. We understand that implications of time. The more time one spends on an area of interest we assume the person to be:

  • resilient
  • patient
  • consistent
  • diligent
  • hardworking
  • etc.

When you do finally see the improvements to your life, skills, hobbies, etc, you will find that not only has your skill level changed, so have you. The you at the beginning of your journey will not be who you are by the time you have finished.

We understand this with the human timeline. A baby and toddler tend to act a certain way because they literally just got here. We know that, with time, the babbling baby will soon learn to speak words, and the screaming toddler will eventually learn how to regulate themselves.

Time changes us and experiences shape our character. If we allow ourselves to work with time, we will shape our characters for the better. If you want to grow up faster than where God has you, well, the old folks used to call kids like that “fast”. Children and teens who wanted to live like they were adults without any of the adult development.

Don’t be fast.

Slow down and enjoy every stage of your development. This is not just about skills and trades. This is about life. Take your time becoming a homeowner. Don’t let the algorithm tell you when you should have children or where you should be right now. Respect time and let it shape you, teach you, and create you. Then, when you do meet your goal, you will be able to properly steward it with all of the improvements that time allowed to happen in you.

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