Stories about disliked activities becoming loved activities?

May 21, 2013 12:21 PM

Can you point me to specific stories, either your own or else freely available on the web, of times when someone has really disliked an activity at the beginning and found it very difficult or unnatural, but after working at it for a significant amount of time, finally comes to love and excel at it?
posted by shivohum to Grab Bag (12 answers total)

I took a class in learning how to spin yarn. I was terrible at it. Everyone else in the class, no joke, was spinning perfectly fine, smooth, thin* yarn on day one. I was having a hard time using my hands to manipulate what I was supposed to be doing and at best, mine was chunky and falling apart and overspun and blah blah blah. Halfway through the class, the teacher went out of town for some reason and a substitute came in, and that substitute said, "Oh, you don't HAVE to do that with your left hand" (my nondominant one), "you can draft the roving with your right if you like." That improved things a lot right there, that I didn't have to do something playing to my weakness (as it were).

That said, after six weeks of class, I used up my stash of roving (raw yarn) and figured I was done with this crap. A few months later I was at a craft fair and they were selling a pretty color of roving...and I bought it and then was all, "What the hell did I just do?" So a few times a year, I buy more roving and borrow a wheel when class is not in session and I make more yarn. I don't know why I like it now, really. Still can't explain that, though working with colors instead of boring "natural" learner's stuff probably helps to keep me more interested.

Though I'll be honest with you: I am still a bad spinner. I still overspin, I still make chunky yarn, I just decided I don't care any more. And since I hate working with thin, fine yarn anyway, that's fine. I just try to avoid having other spinners see it :P

* they REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY go on about how your yarn must be gossamer thin if you are a yarn spinner, it's a giant snobbery.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:46 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

Talking to strangers. When I was a 23-year-old newspaper reporter, I was so nervous about talking to strangers that I'd show up for interviews 20 minutes early so I could have time to hyperventilate in the car, and then find a rest room to wash the sweat off my hands. I used to turn down invitations to parties where I knew fewer than half of the guests.

Repeat exposure over the past 12 years has not made me an extrovert, but it has taught me that social situations do not have to be fraught. I've been to hundreds of in-person interviews and they don't make me nervous at all. I do still sometimes freak out right before ringing the doorbell at a large social event, but I know how to breathe deep and soothe myself for the half-a-second it takes to get through the door.

Now I even accept invitations to parties where I don't know anyone. And this summer I'm volunteering as an ambassador at an art festival -- my entire job will be to go up to strangers who seem lost, confused or alone, and help them connect better connect with others and with the entire experience. Somehow, I've stopped being the person who has panic attacks when faced with unfamiliar people, and have become the person who goes up to confused strangers looking at maps to see if I can help them find their way, the person who talks to folks at the check-out aisle if they seem open to conversation, the person who has very close friends she'd never have made if she hadn't sucked it up and started a conversation.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 12:48 PM on May 21, 2013 [7 favorites]

Gardening was the thorn in my side that has become a great source of peace and feeling connected to the world.

I did a lot of hard physical work when I was young so I always figured I'd make some money and pay other people to do the hard stuff as I got older.

Instead I bought a house with a big yard on a hill, overrun with 10 years of Ivy and neglect.

That fucking Ivy was my nemesis. I spent a year hacking it back, digging it out, reading about it, plotting it's demise via various methods. In the end, it was several months of starving it out in the hot sun covered in black plastic.

With my foe vanquished, I made a plan and started the transformation of the yard. It's not accessible by heavy equipment so I hauled in everything by hand. I built a deck. Put up a fence. planted some things. Hauled in 5 tons of dirt and mulch by hand in buckets. Installed a hot tub. planted some more stuff.

I grumbled through much of this process and one day it hit me. I actually like the smell of dirt. I like watching things change and grow. I like the weird noises hoses make. I like the ache of working hard and slipping into the hot tub for some relief... knowing that even if I fuck up everything else in my life... I made something cool that lots of people get to enjoy.

Every day after work, I go out and muck about for an hour and it really clears my head.

So, the surly reluctant gardener became the happy motherfucking zen gardener.
posted by bobdow at 1:12 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yoga. Hated it, still kind of do... but I love the results and its exciting to watch yourself progress.
posted by tenaciousmoon at 1:19 PM on May 21, 2013

Bowling.

No no, don't wander away. Hear me out.

I've been to tons of bowling events, which are all of the 'let's throw a birthday party at the bowling alley' type, where we all are drunk, are horrible at bowling, and ultimately I get bored because I don't drink, and being horrible at bowling sober isn't that fun.

Then I broke one of my little toes, and was feeling cooped up by not being able to do my normal exercise, which was long walks. I remembered that the last bowling alley I went to, the infamous West Seattle Bowl, had a special where you got three games of bowling for free if you had breakfast there on Saturday mornings. So, I went there with one friend, had a great breakfast, and even though I was still horrible at bowling, my body and mind and soul relished the broken foot friendly exercise.

So now, every other weekend or so, I go solo on Saturday mornings. The staff has gotten to know me, and the breakfasts are still outstanding - especially the bacon waffle. Then, I grab my rental shoes and a ball, and bowl solo for an hour or so, until my 3 games are used up. I'm still horrible at bowling, but getting consistently less horrible. More importantly, I find myself looking forward to my solo bowling excursions during the week. It's almost like meditation to me. And still a pretty good workout!

(Others have mentioned joining a league; I may at some point. But right now, I'm not at a place where I can fit it into my schedule, nor do I want to haul bowling balls around on the bus.)
posted by spinifex23 at 1:51 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

Running. I have never been a natural runner. I always felt slow, my breathing was terrible and heavy. I HATED it, and I was always envious of people who could go out for a "quick 3 miles."

I started training for a marathon last year and I slowly but surely have gotten better at running. I won't be qualifying for Boston anytime soon, but I crave a good race, and most importantly, I really enjoy it. I have done over a dozen races since last year including 4 half marathons and will complete that marathon in October!
posted by allnamesaretaken at 2:04 PM on May 21, 2013

Seconding running. The Couch to 5k program (re-)made a runner out of me. Now that I'm nursing an injured knee, I can't wait to get back.

There are tons of testimonials online and most begin with some variation of "I never thought I would like running, but..."
posted by banwa at 2:16 PM on May 21, 2013

How about The Myth of Sisyphus as told by Camus?

"The struggle itself [...] is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
posted by BibiRose at 3:01 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

When she had cut the buttonholes Laura whipped the cut edges swiftly, and swiftly covered them with the small, knotted stitches, all precisely the same length and closely set together. She so hated making buttonholes that she had learned to make them quickly, and get it over with. Mrs White noticed her work, and said, 'You can beat me making buttonholes.'
Little Town on the Prairie, Chapter 5
posted by bq at 3:54 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

Writing.

Hated it for years until a friend convinced me to do National Novel Writing Month (1 month, 50,000 words). Still hated it. Attempted another novel the next year anyway. By the third time, I had started to get my stride and enjoy it.

Did it twice more and actually hit 50,000 a couple times. Might have continued, but university ate all my writing energy after that. Maybe I'll try again someday now that I'm out of school... And maybe I'll finally learn to like editing my own work, too!
posted by sibilatorix at 10:35 PM on May 21, 2013

Music. I guess I started playing an instrument because I thought I would like it, but in fact I hated it, and continued only because I was determined to be good at "something hard" and because I thought I needed to impress people with a special skill. But it was difficult, and often frustrating, and I remember practicing with a grim determination that can't have been anything but sheer misery.

When I let go of needing to impress people and sound perfect 100% of the time, I had a lot more fun. I think that getting over the initial stages of basic skill learning also helped. I have noticed with other activities (e.g. running) that some things are more fun once you are already somewhat good at them.
posted by epanalepsis at 8:42 AM on May 23, 2013

Horse riding. I was one of those girls who loved horses and I started riding lessons at eight years old. The first time I got on a horse I was absolutely terrified and found the whole thing to be a frightening ordeal. I still felt that way for at least a year of weekly lessons, and I would dread going every week. I kept at it because I didn't want to admit to my parents that I wasn't enjoying it, because I had pestered them for riding lessons for so long and they thought I was having such a good time.

25 years later I am still riding and it has been the one hobby that I've stuck with my whole life. Horse riding has brought me so much joy and has taken me to many beautiful places in my country and around the world where I have had unforgettable experiences and met great friends.

I am not a natural athlete and it took me years to get good at riding, but it has been immensely satisfying to stick at something for a long time and become competent at it and learn to love it.
posted by RubyScarlet at 10:56 PM on May 23, 2013