On my 20th birthday, I bought a ukulele.
I decided that I wanted to start a new hobby, something that would make me seem more interesting, and for some reason I was drawn toward learning how to play the ukulele. I had a birthday coming up, which meant it was the perfect time to start my new hobby.
“Dad, I know this sounds weird, but I really want a ukulele for my birthday,” I said. He gave me a confused look, and that was the end of the conversation. Typical Julia with her crazy ideas.
On my 20th birthday, I opened a card from my dad, and in it he wrote (among other things), “I didn’t know what kind of ukulele to buy you, so here’s some money for one.” You better believe I drug my little sister to the music store and bought myself a ukulele.
Today, I am 22 years old, and I still don’t know how to play the ukulele.
I learned how to play one song, Riptide by Vance Joy, in my first few weeks of having it, but after that, it sat in the corner of my room untouched for months. I would grab it once in a blue moon and play a couple of chords, but I never truly learned how to play it.
Why? Because I kept making excuses. I’m too tired. I have other things to do. My fingers hurt from playing it yesterday. I just don’t feel like it. Blah. Blah. Blah.
I’m sure you’ve been here. Maybe not regarding playing the ukulele, but you know what I mean. You get your mind set on something, you’re determined to follow through with it, and it doesn’t happen. You let life get in the way of what you want to accomplish, and make yourself feel better by coming up with BS excuses as to why you didn’t do what you set out to do.
Oh, I’ll get to it when I have more time—Suuuure.
I had a really long day at work. I’m not feeling it—And tomorrow you will “feel it”?
I’m just not interested anymore—Keep telling yourself that.
There is nothing standing in your way of accomplishing what you want to accomplish. Absolutely nothing. Wait, no, actually there is something—you. You are the only thing prohibiting yourself from doing what you want to do. Not work. Not school. Not friends. Not finances. Not your significant other. You.
Stop telling yourself that you don’t have the means or the time or the energy to do something and just do it! Whether it be something as small as going to the gym or as large as starting a business, if you set out to do something, follow through with it.
Don’t be your own roadblock. Where there’s a will there’s a way, and we all have the will to accomplish great things.
