Anything worth doing…

There’s two well known endings to this phrase. Chances are you know at least one of them. And chances are it’s the one that makes you feel guilty. 

Guilty for not being good enough. Guilty for not trying harder. Guilty for not knowing what things are worth it to begin with. 

Then there’s the version first attributed to G.K. Chesterton.

He’s the hero who said… anything worth doing is worth doing badly. 

And then the heavens opened and the choirs sang and we were all suddenly released from the nagging guilt of not being able to do everything well!

At least that’s kind of how it felt for me when I first heard this version. 

Because that… I feel that in my bones. In my core. In the center of every cell in my body. I can feel that anything worth doing IS worth doing badly. 

Let’s look at this from a different angle. What in life is truly worth doing?

Connecting with family and friends. Raising kids. Creating art. Enjoying the art created by others. Cooking or eating delicious food.

Would you not have children because you know you won’t be a perfect parent? Do you avoid making friends because you fear you may disappoint them somehow? Would you avoid watching a movie, reading a book, or going to an art gallery because you think you may not understand every single nuance the creator infused? Would you stop cooking or eating because not everything you make or try is actually delicious?

No. Probably not. Chances are you still do at least one of the things mentioned on that list because you have given yourself the permission to do it for the pure joy it brings and understand you may not be great at it all of the time.  Because they are worth it. 

Because family and friends and a good book and delicious food are worth doing.

I read it described once as “not an excuse for poor effort but rather an excuse for poor results.”

Understanding you may do something badly doesn’t mean you didn’t try. It just means you’re human. Sometimes it might actually mean you didn’t try, thought. And that’s just fine too! It was still worth it. 

Moving your body more is worth doing. Even if it only means getting more steps in each day.

Learning a new language is worth doing. Even if you never become fluent.

Leaning into a spiritual or faith based practice is worth doing. Even if someone tells you it’s “the right way”

Taking a dance class is worth doing. Even if you never dance on a stage.

Painting or writing or creating is wroth doing. Even if your creation lives in a closet until the day you die.

If it lights you up, challenges your mind, or opens your heart it is worth doing in whatever way and at whatever level you are able to do it right now. 

So. Let’s hear it. What will you go do badly?

Love you big,
Jessi