When was the last time you were a beginner again?

I started playing drums in Spain. In a Brazilian samba band.

My best friend’s immediate reaction was:

"So... you joined a marching band?" 😂

I had to laugh at that too.

But the question I get surprisingly often is:

"Did you already do that back home?"

Nope.

And almost immediately:

"But... aren't you supposed to already know how to do that?"

Since when did we start thinking we have to be able to do something before we're allowed to start?

As children, everything is about learning.

Riding a bike. Sharing. Writing. Football. Geography.

Nobody thinks it's strange that you're a beginner.

And somewhere along the way, that changes.

Learning becomes performing.

Curiosity becomes proving yourself.

And we start deciding in advance what is "just not for us."

"I'm too old for that."

"I have no sense of rhythm."

"I just can't do that."

When did we start killing our own curiosity — and the space we give ourselves to learn something new?

I was well past 25 when I learned kickboxing, Indonesian, motorcycling, snowboarding, cello, sewing and rock climbing. (Which, by the way, I don't actually enjoy nearly as much as I thought I would.)

And now: batucada.

Me drumming in the samba band.

Not because I thought I had any talent for it. Or because I'd done anything like it before.

But because about a year ago I saw a samba group playing in the street and thought:

I want to do that too.

(And apparently because I'm quite willing to be bad at something for a while. 😉)

We underestimate how much fun there is in not being good at something yet.

In fumbling your way through it.

In practising.

In getting better.

Or not getting better, but doing it anyway because you enjoy it.

So: when was the last time you learned something new?

Not because you had to.

Not for your career, to keep up, to improve yourself or because you thought you should.

But simply because you were curious?