What are you “bad” at?

Is it math, public speaking, writing?

While it’s true that we’ve each got strengths and weaknesses, we can come to see our weak areas as intellectual dead zones where growth is impossible. I’m prone to this belief myself, to be honest. I need periodic reality checks.

In a blog post chock full of useful productivity advice, tech entrepreneur Sam Altman reminds us of something we knew as kids:

It’s important to learn that you can learn anything you want, and that you can get better quickly. This feels like an unlikely miracle the first few times it happens, but eventually you learn to trust that you can do it.

It’s easy to do the opposite: to decide what we’re “good” at in early adulthood and spend the rest of our lives in a tiny box. Heck, some people build their professional skillset at age 22 and never update it. What a waste! Don’t let that be you.

Teach yourself to code, start a blog, or join Toastmasters. Getting good at something you’re “bad” at is not only possible; it’s never been easier.