I unscrew the needle plate of my sewing machine with a nickel (I had a tool for this included with the machine but I didn’t realize I had it until after I’d finished). Yes!! It is STUFFED with lint! I thought I was doing well at maintaining my sewing machine but now I see that I totally suck at it. Whoohoo!!!
Suckassary: The act of sucking at doing something.
I, Petra, am a sucka**ary enthusiast.
I talk a lot about how bad I am at things, which is one reason why I usually don’t talk too much in professional settings. Talking about how much I suck at things tends to repel colleagues and clients. Weird. But I can’t help it.
I enjoy finding things that suck or that I suck at because it gives me something to work on, improve, accomplish, etc. which makes me feel great. But it’s not all unicorns and lollipops.
Here are some pros, cons, tips and warnings for the the other sucka**ary enthusiasts out there:
Problem Solving
- Pros – You are good at spotting problems that need fixing and weaknesses that need strengthening. Problem solving is a very valuable service you can offer clients/bosses in a number of jobs and fields. You’re a great devil’s advocate and one who can head off problems before they happen.
- Cons – Because you’re always looking for problems to solve, you can be perceived as critical or ‘a downer’, or sometimes even someone who creates problems where there are none! Problem solving applied to situations where it’s not useful can make YOU into the problem.
- Tips – Offer your superpowers only where appropriate. Not everyone is as thrilled as you are about the sucka**ary you find. When in doubt, you may want to keep your mouth shut and wait to be asked.
- Warnings – Be careful of aiming your superpowers at people or groups of people. You can be unintentionally offensive and even damaging to them. Don’t be a bringer of misery.
Lifetime Learning
- Pros – You tend to be good at professions that need constant learning. For example, high tech industries such as website development are constantly changing and need constant knowledge updates. It’s very hard not to suck at web development. Whoohoo!
- Cons – because learning drives you, once you have mastered a profession you tend to get bored and can become detached or tempted to quit. This can make you distractible and prone to pointing your superpowers in unwanted directions (like poor unsuspecting coworkers). It also makes focusing on building longtime careers difficult.
- Tips – Hobbies are great ways to suck at stuff without disturbing your life – like quitting your job to find a new job that you suck at. Just find a hobby you have some interest in that you suck at. The sky’s the limit! The best hobbies are ones that actually build on your career but are different enough to keep your interest, because you suck at it. E.g. If you’re an illustrator, learn animation. You’re gonna suck!
- Warnings – be careful of becoming a perpetual student with towering student loans. School is wonderful, and a great place to suck at everything, but know your limits. If school is straining your resources there are lots of other ways to suck at stuff.
Modesty
- Pros – Because you spend so much time thinking about how much you suck at stuff, modesty tends not to be hard to come by. And modesty is a very likable and useful quality, keeping you levelheaded and reasonable when others may become arrogant and over confident.
- Cons – For the same reasons as above, you struggle with confidence and self-esteem, which can cause loads of problems for you and those around you. Because you’re hyper-aware of your shortcomings you may not even be able to notice how great you are at things and you could miss out on a lot of opportunities.
- Tips
- Maintain internal validation – Like swallowing medicine, make sure you regularly look for things you’re good at and congratulate yourself on them. All it takes is a bit of focus. A good way to do this is to work towards and celebrate / emphasize anything that you’re good at. I know it’s annoying but you need to think positively about yourself once in a while to balance out those thoughts of sucka**ary.
- Balance external influence – Although you gravitate towards people who agree with your perspective (that you suck at everything), be sure not to surround yourself with too many of these people. I know it feels good to have your perspective of how much you suck confirmed by other people (it feels great to be right) but everything in moderation. Too much can destroy you.
- Warnings – Left unchecked, excessive sucka**ary thoughts about yourself can turn into depression or worse. Don’t suck at this one. It’s your health. Without your health you can’t suck at anything else!
Today, the hobby I’m tackling is sewing and fashion design, which I suck at. It has many of the same aspects as my current design career but it’s also different enough that I’m learning things all the time. For example, I just learned that I suck at maintaining my machine. WINNING!!
Sewing machine photo copyright © tweedledeedesigns (Angela)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tweedledeedesigns/6408897665