Have You Sucked Enough Lately?
The more we try new things, the more we suck, the more alive we feel
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I’ve always had a “guts-crush” on people who gather the courage to get on stage and perform. Whether it’s a kid botching their dance routine, or an adult trying community theater. Anyone who tries something new — especially in front of people — has my respect: probably because they’re going to suck.
Speaking of sucking: If you’ve ever been to a Moth storytelling event, you’ve seen the highs and lows of first-time stage-dwellers. If you’re not familiar, the Moth organization arranges in-person events and sends out a new story topic monthly. Anyone who prepares a five-minute story (it has to be true and practiced), can put their name in the hat on performance night. If you get picked, you go up.
The night I signed up was equally excruciating and exciting. The house was packed with over 200 people (I asked myself, “Is there nothing else going on in town tonight?”). Several storytellers had the audience enrapt, so it was best if I wasn’t one of the 10 who get picked. I was “lucky” #9.
And wow did I suck. And I mean badly. Exactly as I should have because it was my first time:
I was on an adrenaline high for hours afterwards. I felt truly alive. Not because I nailed it. But because I did it at all.
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Pick up something for the first time — whether it’s a paintbrush, microphone, harmonica, a basketball — and we’re going to suck (case in point, Ep1 of the podcast). It would kind of be rude of us not to suck. If we were great the first time we tickled the ivories, that’d be a slap-in-the-face to the people who shed blood, sweat, and tears learning Chopsticks.
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After I told my story, several people came up to say, “Good job up there!” I did a good job at sucking, and that was my job as a first-timer. Sucking is something more of us should do. Because it means we’re trying new things, not just doing things we’re good at.
Yes to all of this! I love the Moth. Also, you did not suck at all - but sucking is in the eye of the beholder? 😆
I just did a poetry reading knowing that my poetry isn’t meant for that format - and I knew I would suck - and I did, and it was great to not feel like I had to do well. It was such a freeing feeling.
I'm an Enterprise Acct. Exec for a Tech firm and give presentations daily to teams of high-level execs from Fortune 100 firms. Last week I gave a MOCK presentation (same material but to a pretend group of h-l execs) and could not have SUCKED more. So much for only sucking at NEW things. :)