Welcome to Amplify with Jess Ekstrom, a show designed to help women get out of their head and into their zone of influence. Happy Monday, everyone. Here’s some food for thought to start your week: perfectionists are good at a lot of things, but they are not good at being beginners.

Motherhood changed all of the beliefs I have about my self-worth, especially when it came to being a beginner. I thought that my self-worth came from my ability to do things well, whether that meant my work, my productivity, my productivity at work and at home, my physical health, my relationships—all of those things. But when your self-worth only comes from getting an A+, you get so used to being in that perfect, high-achieving zone that trying anything new and being, frankly, wobbly at it feels like a total and utter failure.

So what you need to do is what I call “disrupt your beginner system,” meaning remind yourself what it feels like to be bad at something new. Let me give you an example. So, I’m not sure where I got this idea, but during the thick of postpartum after having Ellie, I decided that diving into something I’ve always wanted to do but had been hesitant to try was the perfect plan. And when I say hesitant, I mean that’s taking it lightly. I was scared out of my mind. I already felt vulnerable, discombobulated, questioning my identity and my self-worth. So why not just keep these good vibes going and add more discomfort?

For me, this came in the form of stand-up comedy classes. I have always loved watching comedy and admired so many comedians. And as a speaker, I’ve tried to infuse humor and comedy into my talks but always thought it was something I wanted to explore further. I was absolutely terrified to do so. So, four months after giving birth, I showed up on a Wednesday night to a local comedy club and started my six-week stand-up comedy course. And I realize now that this playground allowed me to be a beginner in comedy, but also allowed me to go easier on myself being a beginner in parenting.

We all get into a rhythm, a routine, a comfort cycle where we know who we are, what we’re good at, our likes, our dislikes, what time we wake up, and what time we go to bed. The cycle is great. I love being a creature of habit. However, when you want to try something new that’s not a part of your comfort cycle, it feels daunting. But when we can disrupt our beginner system with doing something new, whether that’s taking a new class or even just trying a new recipe for dinner, it teaches us that being a beginner isn’t so bad. In fact, it’s kind of fun to have no expectations on yourself or your performance—just throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.

So this week, I want you to challenge yourself to be a beginner at something. And I want you to tell me what it is. Seriously, tell me what you’re doing that you’re a beginner at. Text me at 704-228-9495. I promise it’s actually me on the other end. I might not be able to respond to every single text, but I do read them. So text me at 704-228-9495.

I’ll leave you with this: instead of aiming for perfection, aim for an experience. Good or bad, an experience will always teach you way more than always getting it right.

Thanks for listening to Amplify. If you are a fan of the show, show us some podcast love by giving us a rating and review. And give us a follow at @micdropworkshop and @jessekstrom.