good life with sara wells

Part of cultivating a good life is to create intentional space in your life dedicated to learning. 

I was recently chatting with someone who only knew me from my online personality, a space where I often share visual/creative things I’m working on, and she made the comment,

“I’m just so jealous you were born with so many talents. It seems unfair that I don’t know how to do anything and you seem to have won the genetic lottery when it comes to skills and talents!!” 

I cracked up and immediately responded,

“You think I was BORN knowing how to do all this stuff??!”     

You see, I’m an average Joe -- just like everyone else, but there is one secret I’m not shy about sharing: I love to learn stuff and I always create space in my life to fit that in. 

Life is all about learning, isn’t it? Sometimes, however, we get lost in the idea that it’s the universe’s job to dish out experiences for us and our job to somehow muddle through and come out on the other end with an enhanced skill set gained from that particular thing. And when it comes to actual physical skill sets, we tend to think those were assigned like eye color and height when we were born. How many times have you wished you had the talents that some of your friends do? It’s true we are all born with different strengths and talents, but it doesn’t mean you can’t try to learn something you’ve always wished you could do!

I love trying new things and every time I see a talent or skill someone else has that I genuinely wish I possessed, instead of feeling jealous of the other person, I wonder if I could learn that thing myself. So years ago I decided to take a different approach to the often cliché New Year’s resolutions and instead pick a “thing” to learn that year. It doesn’t mean I master everything I try; some things are epic failures, some things I find I simply don’t enjoy, but for many, many other things, I find that just like with so much else in life, a little time, dedication, and practice results in improved skills and newfound hobbies. 

I’ve found that taking the time as an adult to learn new things has fostered space for creativity, improved my clarity and focus, opened up a multitude of new professional opportunities, and shown my children to be brave in trying new endeavors as well.

There are several things that often hold people back from trying something they’re interested in. As women in particular, we are often so dedicated in taking care of the needs of others, that our own desires get pushed into that ever-overflowing bucket of “one day” (one day when all my kids are in school or out of the house, or one day when I lose 20 pounds or I’m not so busy…) Forget “one day.” What would you do if your “one day” was today? We prioritize time in our lives for things that are important to us, and if learning is important, you make the time, even if it’s just a little tiny space!

Another big thing that holds people back is fear. “Oh I would NEVER be good at that!” Guys, here’s the big secret that I can’t repeat loud enough. If you get one takeaway from me, let it be this: It’s not about the perfecting, it’s about the doing. The growth is in the process. In order to be life-long learners, we have to overcome the self-doubt that prevents us from ever even starting something because we assume we wouldn’t be good at it.

When I take on something to learn, it’s not with the intention of becoming a professional at it! It’s simply the fun in the process of trying something! That’s where the growth is. Some things stick and become life-long loves, and other things fizzle out and simply get a check mark for trying.

So how do you do this in a practical way? Learning something new doesn’t mean going back to college or making an enormous time and money commitment. You can try learning something new in so many ways. It could be as simple as a one night fun class with girlfriends, signing up for an e-course you listen to at home while folding laundry, trying a new gym, attending a workshop, looking up YouTube tutorials on your own (honestly, this is how I learn a LOT of stuff!), or taking lessons right alongside one of your kids.

Some of my “things” of years past that I have learned (or attempted to learn) are digital photography, hand-lettering, leather work, skiing, candle making, Adobe design, power lifting, guitar, video editing, watercolor, and even Project Life! Yep, that’s how I became an avid PL groupie; I chose it as my “thing” one year after deciding to take a little time each month to get my family photos in order and learn a system that I could stick with for photo journaling, and here I am! 

I recently started a small candle hobby business, and every time I look at a photo of one of my jars, I smile because it represents a culmination of so many of my “things” from years past. There’s the photography in the photo itself, the hand-lettering I drew myself, the watercolor splotches I paint for each design, the Adobe Illustrator I used to create the label, and of course the candle itself. Those were ALL things I have taken the effort to learn in past years and they came together in this cool way.

If you’ve ever wondered if you could learn something new that you’ve always been interested in, just do it! Make the time, take the step, and JUST TRY!

a note from becky

Well THIS is going down as one of my favorite Good Life lessons ever! I am so thankful for Sara -- not only for sharing her wisdom and insights with us, but for the way she delivered the message. And for the way she is regularly going about, doing good, and being such a bright spot in the lives of those around her. While Sara and I have only met in person once or twice, we're Instagram friends and basically besties ... I can feel it! I keep inviting her to just live next door already so she can feed me regularly, but she hasn't yet taken me up on the offer. In the meantime, I thoroughly enjoy her recipes and online goodness and I'm so delighted to know that she chooses Project Life for documenting her memories. See?? Shouldn't we be neighbors!?

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