I wish I had the opportunity to read something like this when I was first starting my fitness journey.
Unfortunately, when I was starting out, I was far too intimidated by nearly everything and that fear kept me from embracing “beginner-hood” for what it should be: the start of something awesome.
What I later found out was that many beginners have the same fears.
They fear being judged by their more advanced counterparts, they are afraid of looking like an idiot and they spend a lot of their energy focusing on “not being good enough” compared to others.
If you’re a beginner and are just starting your fitness journey, I’m really glad that you found your way here.
You should never feel bad about being a beginner because you are starting an amazing, life-changing journey which will ultimately lead you to become a happier, stronger and healthier version of yourself.
Don’t be ashamed of not being fast enough or strong enough yet.
If you genuinely enjoy the activity that you’re doing, then your gains will be inevitable over time. If you love the activity, even if you’re not that great at it yet, your enthusiasm weighs more than actual skill.
In every enthusiastic beginner, I see a potential future expert.
It’s inspiring to watch beginners achieve significant improvements over time.
The real truth is, your more advanced counterparts are not judging you in a negative way. In fact, they are thrilled that another amazing person (like you) is also sharing the joyful experience with them.
Those who aren’t thrilled by your presence are most likely too focused upon themselves to notice you, let alone judge you.
When you’re a beginner, you have unlimited potential to take your chosen activity to a whole new level.
You haven’t been at it long enough to develop bad habits (such as bad form). If you have developed bad habits, then you haven’t been at it long enough to get them permanently engrained into you.
As a beginner, the road to excellence in your chosen activity is wide open for you as long as you love what you are doing, are open to learning and don’t let the fear of “not being good enough” keep you from continuing.
Every expert that you encounter did not magically get there as a result of genetics and natural talent. The majority started out almost exactly the way you are and they most likely had the same fears as you.
However, deep down they knew what they wanted to achieve and never lost their enthusiasm.
Just like you, they also sometimes felt like they weren’t making any progress and that their efforts were futile.
Through it all, they continued to love the activity and their unstoppable enthusiasm allowed them to emerge victorious.
You, too, can do the same and that is why as a beginner, you should be excited and not embarrassed about being where you are.