So, what's enthusiasm got to do with it?

 I've tended to think that I'd be happy if I were really good at something.  If I mastered something. Preferably with fame AND fortune. But, guiltily, I've more often succumbed to the partial satisfaction of being a dilettante.  Present me with a subject, craft, or task and if it seems interesting, I'll get passably good at it.  Piano playing. Knitting. Art history & criticism, drawing, painting, and many more.

But I just found out there are some who believe that

Enthuiasm is more important to mastery than innate ability,

 because it is enthusiasm that gives one the oomph and willingness to practice.

Who knew?

Personal Pitfall No. 1: Since so many subjects and tasks were presented to me by others, I seldom considered whether it was something I was really enthusiastic about. My practice (and results) tended to be perfunctory, even if they met with moderate success.

 

Personal Pitfall No. 2: I hadn't a clue that one could choose to enjoy the fun of failure. Insight! Happy Accidents! Improvement! I grew up in a nest of critics.

Personal Pitfall No. 3: I never knew if or when it was safe to ask for help.  Because those critics naturally tended to criticize rather than help. 

Apparently Autumn colors are just around the corner.I exaggerated them with a new App!

But with these relatively new insights, I'm practicing, failing, and "reading the manual" for the iPad program Procreate.  It's rather like photoshop... but NOT QUITE! For now, I'm quite happy to practice fiddling with photographs and making drawings from scratch. And curious about whether I can enjoy the failures, keep reading the manual, and maybe even asking for help.

Creating from scratch is fun in an entirely different way.

 So a goal for now is to notice what I'm enthusiasic about, find fun in failure (cross your fingers), and ask for help.

What are you enthusiastic about?