Everyone wants their first attempt at something to be good.
We want our first draft to read well.
Our first workout to feel strong.
Our first business idea to succeed.
Our first line of code to be elegant.
Our first presentation to be confident.
Our first try at anything to prove we’re “naturally good.”
But here’s the truth nobody likes to say out loud:
Your first attempt will always be bad — and that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.
Not because you’re untalented.
Not because you’re incapable.
Not because you’re behind.
But because beginnings are not evaluations.
They are exposure.
The myth of instant competence
We admire people who are exceptional at what they do:
- great athletes
- great leaders
- great engineers
- great creatives
- great teachers
And because we only see their mastery, we assume their beginnings must have been impressive too.
They weren’t.
Every great person you’ve ever admired has an embarrassing first attempt they never show you:
- bad code
- shaky footing
- clumsy technique
- awkward delivery
- incoherent notes
- confused thinking
Mastery hides its origin story.
So your first attempt feels uniquely bad — but that’s only because everyone else hides theirs.
Why your first attempt MUST be bad
A good first attempt is not possible because:
- you don’t have the skill yet
- you don’t have the context yet
- you don’t know the patterns yet
- you don’t understand the mistakes yet
- you don’t have the reps yet
You can’t skip the bad version because the bad version teaches you everything the good version needs.
The bad version is the foundation.
Without it, there’s nowhere for improvement to stick.
Bad is not failure. Bad is data.
Every awkward, flawed, incomplete attempt is giving you feedback:
- What works
- What doesn’t
- What you need next
- Where your gaps are
- How to adjust
- What to practice
- What to avoid
Great performers aren’t great because they avoided bad attempts.
They’re great because they collected more bad attempts than everyone else.
They learned faster because they failed faster — and analyzed what failed.
**The real danger isn’t doing something badly.
The real danger is refusing to begin because you might do it badly.**
Perfectionism is just fear wearing a respectable outfit.
It keeps you polishing the idea in your head instead of producing the rough draft the real work requires.
It convinces you that you need to “prepare more” before starting.
(No amount of preparation replaces the first rep.)
It convinces you that you need “more confidence” before trying.
(No one feels confident at the beginning.)
It convinces you that you should wait until you’re ready.
(Readiness is a myth. Action creates readiness.)
The best performers worry about the next attempt — not the first one
Beginners want the first attempt to be impressive.
Experts want the next attempt to be better.
That’s the whole game.
Improvement is incremental.
Mastery is iterative.
Growth is built from accumulated imperfection.
The person who tolerates more bad attempts eventually outperforms the person who waits for the perfect one.
So here’s the mindset shift:
Don’t aim for good.
Aim for done.
Don’t aim for impressive.
Aim for forward.
Don’t aim for mastery.
Aim for version 1. Then version 2. Then version 3.
Your first attempt is supposed to be bad.
It’s allowed to be bad.
It’s required to be bad.
Because once you stop trying to protect your ego, you finally free yourself to build your skill.
Start bad.
Keep going.
Get better.
That’s the entire formula.
Everything else is just noise.