Embracing The Suck

This is a tough one.
Embracing a poor performance?  Why would anyone do that?  There's no benefit to embracing the suck...right?

Actually, there is, if it allows you to get started.

I struggle with this in my skating.

Several times a week, I practice with girls who are my children's age, and ultra competitive.
My skills and my program are pathetic, by comparison.
That's ok, but it makes it hard to put my music on.

I also have on-and-off problems with asthma when I skate.
Knowing that I'll probably feel like someone filled my lungs with gasoline, set it on fire, then stabbed me in the chest also makes it hard to put my music on.

But...the only way to improve is to work through the sucky part.
I haven't found a good way around it (and believe me, I've looked!)

A couple years ago, I noticed that when my coach told me to do my program in a lesson, and I replied, "Ok, but it's not going to be good," my performance was always much better than I thought it would be.
I wondered why this was.  What about the self-fulfilling prophecy thing?

Why would I perform better, after saying I would do worse?

Now, I think I have the answer.
When I say, "Ok, but it's not going to be good,"  I'm really saying, and telling myself, "It's not going to be good...and I'm doing it anyway."

Meaning, "I'm getting this bit of incompetence out of the way today, on the way to better things.  I'm not avoiding it...I'm going to run right at it."

When I run right at that poor performance (of anything, work, sports, whatever), I get a little bit of learning, a little improvement.  It may suck, but it's not a waste of effort.

It's still tough.  It takes a LOT of focus to go full speed into a likely-unpleasant experience. And then again.  And again.  And one more time.
Even after all that, maybe the performance isn't great, it just sucks less.

The International Judging System (IJS) of figure skating, and my sons' Boy Scout Troop both understand the value of "it sucks less."

Under IJS, all elements in a program have a "base value", consisting of a certain number of points.  Harder elements have a higher base value.  Then, the judges can add or deduct up to 3 points, in the Grade of Execution (GOE).  So, a -3 is bad, -2 is less bad, -1 is less bad, and zero really is ok.  +1, +2 and +3 are gravy.  Working toward zeros is solid.

The scouts have a system of deciding who goes camping together in a group.  -1 scouts need someone to assist them, 0 scouts can take care of themselves and +1 scouts can take care of themselves and help a -1.  The whole group should equal 0.
I was so proud, and said so, when each of mine stopped being a -1 and became a zero!

Embracing the suck isn't the same as slacking off or settling for less than my best.  It's just acknowledging "Hey, this is where I am...tomorrow, maybe I'll be closer to zero!"

As long as whatever I'm doing is moving in the right direction, it's all good.