This Season, Be An Amateur

“When did we stop doing things just for fun?”

—Annie F. Downs

For my birthday last week, Tony and I made pizza for our stay-at-home celebration. As I shared a few weeks ago, I’ve been learning how to make sourdough bread, and pizza felt like the next step. I made the crust from my sourdough starter. I followed the directions so carefully. And still for most of the process, I felt like I was holding my breath.

Trying new things feels scary.

I am still so new at working with fermented yeast, that I always have this little touch of anxiety in the early stages of the process. Every time I pull the towel off the bowl of rising dough, I pray I will see small air bubbles forming beneath the surface. That is how I know the yeast is doing it’s job.

It’s amazing to me, how badly I don’t want to fail even when I’m just doing something for pure enjoyment.

It’s amazing to me, how badly I don’t want to fail even when I’m just doing something for pure enjoyment. The fear of failure should never be a concern when it comes to having fun. Yet so many of us struggle against it.

Recently, I read Annie Down’s new book, That Sounds Fun, and in it, she talks about how we’ve forgotten the importance of being an amateur. In other words, someone who is still learning a skill or sport. One cause she points to, is that we believe we need to be professionals in almost everything we do. The problem with this, she writes, is:

“It has totally stunted growth and squelched conversations and stopped us from being brave. If I think I can only do something I’m great at, or something I can fake greatness in, I will live a very limited life.”

We live in an age when people have made almost everything into a business. You know how to make bath bombs? Furniture? Embroidered tea towels? Open a shop on Esty. You like experimenting with makeup, start a Youtube channel and build enough followers to get sponsors. You’re a genius at creating fun videos for people on Instagram or TikTok, become a brand sponsored influencer.

So many of our creative endeavors have become about starting a side hustle or a second career. Or, if we love painting, knitting, or working with our hands—but we don’t feel like we’re good enough to gain attention or make money—we think it’s a waste of time. This is one of the most tragic lies we believe. Because as I am learning with my sourdough bread, the act of being creative can feed our souls in a way nothing else can.

Last week, when we pulled the finished pizza from the oven, the cheese was bubbling and the crust was the perfect combination of crunchy, airy, and soft all at the same time. It was beautiful. It was delicious. More importantly though,

I felt joy.

I realized the beauty of the process was not just that it turned out better than I could have asked. It was that no one was watching. There was no pressure to succeed. I was just playing in the kitchen with tasty results. And, I was able to carry that joy into other areas of my life.

The beauty of the process was not just that it turned out better than I could have asked. It was that no one was watching. There was no pressure…

Joy is why playing, having fun, and being an amateur at something in our lives is so important. When everything is so serious, we need opportunities to work with our hands, try new things, and not worry as much about the outcome.

Friends, I know we continue to be in an extremely difficult season. Many of us are feeling stretched beyond what we thought possible. But if you have even an hour this week, I want to invite you to try something new. Be an amateur. Let yourself play. I promise, you will be surprised at the joy and energy it brings to you life.