Navigating New Interests When You’re Inexperienced (Solo)

Have you ever felt the need to hit the reset button on your life and embrace a fresh start?  Feeling a bit lost or overwhelmed by the idea of trying something new? In this episode of Tea With Tanya, we dive into the exciting world of exploring new interests and hobbies, especially when you're starting from scratch. You're not alone! Join me as we discuss practical tips and personal stories and share some advice on how to confidently navigate new interests, embrace the learning curve, and find joy in the journey of discovering new passions. Whether it's a new sport, creative outlet, or skill, this episode will inspire and guide you to take that first step with enthusiasm and courage.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Tea with Tanya. I'm your host, tanya Ambrose, an average millennial navigating life as a maternal health professional, non-profit founder and grad student. Join me in the Tea Tasting Room where we spill the tea on finding balance and promoting positive living while doing it all. Hey friend, welcome back to the Tea Tasting Room. Welcome back to another episode. I am happy to be here with you another week here in the Tea Tasting Room.

Speaker 1: 0:34

Now today's episode is kicking off a what I'm dubbing a solo summer series here on the podcast, but more so like a fun and flirty series season of the podcast this summer, which will be a little bit more personal than what you're used to when it comes to me talking here in the tea tasting room. You know, for me, I came up with the idea after realizing, you know what I've had a bunch of serious topics and you, my listeners, you who join me in the tea Tasting Room every Tuesday, as much as you're excited and happy about the episodes that I'm posting and recording, you've had some requests that I've been ignoring for a while and I no longer want to ignore them. And, to be honest, you know, in the summertime people are traveling, living their best lives with family or whatever it is. So to secure guests during the summer is, honestly, a bit harder than I would anticipate, but also again, because I'm very understanding and I try to be more mindful of people and their lives. So I was thinking about this summer is going to be fun and flirty I'm dubbing it there. I went through some ish. Now I'm ready to dish, so I'm going to be pouring the tea.

Speaker 1: 1:42

We got some teas brewing here in the tea tasting room and, like I said, it's going to be a bit more personal this this summer, with some of the episodes that I have planned for you. Some came by way of social media, after posting in their question box on Instagram, and you guys submitted questions both on Instagram as well as my WhatsApp as well. So it's definitely, you know some of the questions on the topics were a bit reoccurring. So let me narrow down what I can talk about. You know you guys really want the tea, you want my tea, and I will definitely dish and share and pour that tea into you as well. I am dubbing it the Solar Summer Series, but I'll be honest. You may see a friend or two stop by here in the Tea Tasting Room to join us on an episode or two based on some of the conversations that we have been having, and it's relevant to some of the topics and episodes that I have planned for us here in the Tea Tasting Room, and this is just a way for me to pour into myself.

Speaker 1: 2:43

I told myself this summer, like I've mentioned briefly on the podcast, the first six months of 2024 has been really challenging. So for me, right now, I'm in the era of rebuilding, restructuring my life to fit my current reality, but also to create the reality that I want for my life in the next six months as well. So it's all about pouring into myself, it's about being more honest, being more open and, of course, when I have you here in the tea tasting room, I think this will be a good opportunity for us to get to know each other to an extent, you know, of course, as we continue to grow and build, and just realizing that I've surpassed this past season, I've surpassed the 100 episode mark of Tea with Tanya, and it's really time for me to double down and really decide what's going to get my focus and attention. So that's what I'm going to be doing this summer. So this summer is going to be all about fun and flirty. It's going to be more personal because I want to ensure that I'm catering to you. I want the feel of the episode to be like it's a WhatsApp call or FaceTime call, whatever the case may be. So you know I'm here to dish it. You know I want you some ish, so I want a dish. And, of course, we're going to be promoting positive living and learning as we go, as we continue to live our best lives.

Speaker 1: 3:57

You know, I want this season, this series, to be a bit more relaxed and more aligned with where I am in this current phase of my life, you know, give you a chance to get to know me more, to peek into my life a tad bit. It's scary because of how private I am, but also how much I share in the podcast. It's scary but I'm also very excited and I think this will be a bit easier for me, you know. So we're going to keep it fun and flirty because we're going to have a healthy and a happy and just a chill summer. And I say chill because these temperature these days is just not. I'm not here for it, you know, I'm not here for it at all. But yeah, so that's where we're going, you know we're going to. I'm trying to explore.

Speaker 1: 4:39

Over the winter and the spring and the early part of summer was all about the hot tea. This time we're having some cool the chill iced teas, and this week in the tea tasting room we're featuring some lemon iced tea. So that's what you're going to be getting, because we got to keep ourselves cool. Ok, so it's going to be lemon iced tea in the tea tasting room this week on Tea with Tanya, all right. So now that you know what you're getting yourself into today's topic, all right. So now that you know what you're getting yourself into today's topic, we're going to be talking about navigating new interests when you're inexperienced, and that's something that a question that a listener submitted to me. I'm not going to shout her out, but you know it's something that I can relate to. I mean, I should give a shout out, but I'm not sure she wants me to call her name. So if you're listening, you know who you are. Thank you for submitting this topic as well, and if you're okay with me calling your name, you let me know and I'll be sure to show it to you on the next episode as well. But yeah, we're going to be talking about navigating new interests when you're inexperienced. Now, if you're thinking about, have you ever wanted to pick up a new hobby or dive into a passion project, but you felt overwhelmed when it came to the learning curve that's going to come, with all the different challenges? Well, let me tell you, my friend, you are not alone. Ok, we've all been there. And today we're going to unpack a little bit because I want to keep this episode short and sweet for you as well, but we're going to unpack how to take those first steps, stumble a bit, because we all know about stumbling, but, of course, still find the joy in the journey. That's going to be key for real, for real, for real, I know on the podcast you've heard that I'm a doula, I'm a lactation counselor, I'm a nonprofit founder, I'm a podcast host, I have my doula. I'm a Turner Health business. I am so many different things. I'm a podcast host, I have my doula or maternal health business. I am so many different things. I'm a grad student, I work full time, I teach. There's just so many different things that I do that sometimes I don't know where I find the time to even do such a thing. But it happens and that comes as a result of again me finding that passion project, whether something started as a hobby. In this case the podcast, was supposed to just be a hobby, and hobby only. I want to record, but I also want to educate and empower and just promote positive living. But I was taking the podcast here not for a joke, but I was just going through the motion and if I wanted to have an episode this week, if I didn't, I wouldn't do it. And then I soon realized that you know the importance of consistency. So for me, you know, stepping into this podcasting world, I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew I was doing my research, I was doing whatever, and I bought a mic At one point. I was just using my phone to record a podcast episode. Then I decided to upgrade to a mic that was like about 20 bucks on Amazon and started doing my research. Had no idea what I was doing, but I know I wanted an outlet because I often joke and say that I do not have the face to be on YouTube. I don't have the patience to be editing any episodes on YouTube. It's just a lot where I can just sit behind and record and upload. You know what I mean. So that's what I did. The same thing when I became a founder for my nonprofit organization. I knew again what the goal was, what the mission was. But how can I start if I don't have experience in ever being a leader in the sense where I'm tasked with running an entire nonprofit organization that's helping over hundreds of girls in the community as well? So I was very inexperienced. You know, when I started even journaling I'll take it very simple, because I'm listening to big things but even when it came to journaling, I didn't know where to start. I was just writing, but some things didn't make sense because I had like a preconceived notion of what that was supposed to be like. So I just want to talk about you know why exploring your interests is important. It's like why bother with your interests at all, especially for me, when it's easier for us to stick with what we know? You know what I mean. Well, my friend, exploring your interests is very, very crucial for our personal goal. It helps to shake up our routines, it's going to broaden our horizons and it oftentimes lead us to discover any hidden talents we may have or any passions we never even knew that we had. You know, it can be as simple as, like I said, journaling. It could be as simple as learning a new recipe, or as complex as mastering a musical instrument, because for me, I want to go back to piano lessons. My parents spent money for me to go to piano classes and it's like I've forgotten that since I was young, you know. So it could be as accomplished as mastering a musical instrument, no matter what it is. My friend, you know, stepping out of your comfort zone can be incredibly rewarding. And, of course, when you're doing something new, you know there's so many different challenges when you're starting something new. And I think you know when you jump into something new, that's going to come with its own set of challenges. Take it from me If you don't hear anything else, jumping into something new is going to come with its own set of challenges. But the fear of failure can be paralyzing. Again, take that from me. You know, instead of starting something, you just think about all the wrong ways things could go and all something just negative. So the fear of failure can be very paralyzing and I've had to deal with that and sometimes I still deal with that, to be honest with you. So you might think something like what if I embarrass myself, aka I did that? Or what if I'm just not good at it at all? You know what if you know? You feel like you're an imposter? But trust me, like I said, I've had those thoughts day in, day out. Some days I still do. But another big hurdle that comes with that fear of failure and that doubt in yourself or questioning yourself is the lack of knowledge. You know it's like. Think about it, it's like being a child in school. Again. You have to, let's say, you know we're in preschool, kindergarten. You know, when you send your young siblings, or even your nieces, maybe your child or children, to school, they start learning the alphabet. You know A, b, c, d and everything for the first time. You know that's what. When it comes to starting something, you got to give yourself the knowledge and find the different resources, finding the time and resources. You know knowledge and find the different resources. Finding the time and resources. Let me tell you this we are busy. I've listed all what I do and I'm pretty sure I've missed out stuff, but we are all busy or the idea of squeezing in something new can feel impossible and again, like I mentioned, that imposter syndrome. I have an episode on the podcast that imposter syndrome is so real I still deal with that to this day. I was having a conversation I'm a doula and I work within the hospital system as a doula as well and this is something new to me outside of having my own private clients and I was having a conversation with the individual who's over the doulas in that program and I'm talking to her and I'm like, at the end of the conversation I just remember hearing myself like, well, tana, you really are knowledgeable it took you a minute to get here what you do, how you speak so eloquently because you know I speak fast and stutter, but the knowledge that you have and working along with some of the nurses and the doctors in a previous birth that I experienced, it's like wow, you know, instead of feeling like an imposter, just you know, sometimes you feel like a fraud because you're not instantly amazing at something that can be a real confidence killer. So I definitely want us to remember that you know when we're starting something new, it's going to require, you know, you finding the time and resources and you acquiring that knowledge about whatever it is that you want to do. So I want to share some steps that you can overcome when it comes to having an inexperience, when it comes to exploring your interests, new passions and these different things, because these are some steps that are going to help you to overcome that initial inexperience and start enjoying the process. Because the key is you have to start somewhere. I don't care if you're thinking about if you're going to fail or you're an imposter. You have to start. You would not unless you start. I was having a conversation with a sister One of my sisters is the other day and she has all these ideas and great ideas and all these things planned out. But I'm like I don't want to hear it because you haven't started. You're telling me oh, what if, what if? Oh, what if? What if, what if? I don't want to hear the what ifs. You have to start. So I'm going to share some steps with you so that you can get over that, overcome, overcome that initial, start enjoying the process of a new interest, a new hobby, a passion project, whatever it is. The first thing you want to do is to research and learn. The public health professional in me would not, if I didn't say research, I wouldn't be who I am. But you definitely want to start with research and learn. Start by gathering information. You want to read books, you want to watch videos, even take an online class or course there are some free or you can just go to YouTube University. I'm telling you there's so much things you can learn on YouTube when you use it for the good. You know, the internet is literally your friend in this case. You know, do not underestimate the power of a good tutorial, like I would go to TikTok sometimes to be honest, I'm embarrassed to even say that or I go to YouTube or Pinterest because, let me tell you, pinterest is my safe space. But you definitely want to research and learn and gather the information about whatever it is you want to do. It doesn't matter how minute or how small it may seem. You want to do your research and learn about what is it that you're trying to get into. You want to start small. Let me tell you, you don't want to be out here trying to conquer Mount Everest on your first day. Take it from me because, for me, I wanted to save the world in one day. I wanted to have everything up and running in one day. Because I had these big goals, I started stressing myself out, because what I'm missing? The step of starting small, just starting, first of all, and starting small to get to that bigger goal that I may have. So you want to break down your interest into small, manageable tasks. You want to start painting? Then simply begin with a sketch or get some basic color study. Go on YouTube. Okay, what are the basic colors and all? What is it? The primary colors? Red, blue, yellow. I may be sounding like a fool saying that, because I have not asked in craft or visualized and so on, but start small and break down your interest into small, manageable tasks. It doesn't matter. Again, like I said, it doesn't matter if it's journaling, meditating, whatever it is. Break that down and decide. Okay, I think I want to meditate in the mornings for five minutes, because my attention span can only allow five minutes. Whatever it is, you want to start small, and the biggest thing for me. The next thing is to seek guidance, find a mentor, join some sort of community group, whatever it is, if it is a local club or something online like an online forum. You know, the key is to connect with others who share your interests, who can provide any sort of invaluable support and advice, and that was me during my time when I was venturing into the public health space, when I was becoming a doula. One thing I'm going to do I'm going to send a DM. I'm going to ask a question. I'm going to do whatever it is to make that connection, not because I want to essentially use a person, but of course I want to have the knowledge. I'm not just telling the person hey, I want for you to be my mentor. I am coming with my own resources and my own understanding of what I think I'm doing and I'm reaching out to them so that I can get a better understanding of what I may need. And you'll be surprised at the responses that you'll get when you reach out to people. I've had people reach out to me all the time still to this day, constantly and one thing I often say is I don't get keep, because why would I do that? I would not want someone to do that for me. So you definitely want to seek guidance. Don't be afraid to ask questions or reach out for help. I know it's easier said than done. Take it from me. But you have to start small. Like I said, do your research, know who you're talking to, know what you're asking and they will be able to provide you that support and advice that you need to start to to to get further along with whatever is it that you're trying to do, you want to practice regularly. I cannot say it again, and I I've seen it with the podcast consistency is key. Set aside a little time each day or week to practice. Like I know, we're all busy from one job to the next or all the different things that we're doing, but you want to set aside a little time each day or week to practice whatever it is that you're doing. You know it's basically like watering a plant A little bit of effort over time is going to lead to growth. And I have a friend who started her gardening. She, you know a little bit of effort day in, day out, watering her plant. Now she's over there being fruitful with her tomatoes on her tree as well. So her plant. Now she's over there being fruitful with her tomatoes on her tree as well. So you definitely want to practice regularly and set aside time each day or week to practice. Only, you know, if it's one hour a week, you give it what you have, but you have to be consistent and do things little by little, so that it can ultimately lead to your growth and understanding and you becoming even better in that skill or whatever that new interest may be. And I'm going to say this I want for you to embrace mistakes and take it from me, the girl who fell out of nursing school, who had to get up several minutes. I've fallen and I've had to get up several times throughout my 34 years on this planet. You know, you want to definitely understand that mistakes are not failures, they are simply learning opportunities. And I'm going to say that again Mistakes are not failures, they are simply learning opportunities. You know, every misstep teaches you something new. So I'm going to laugh at your mistakes and move on. I'll be honest, you know your mistakes. In the moment, at the time, you may not be able to laugh at it, because one thing about me if I make a mistake, I'm going to beat myself up and I'm going to be upset and it's just going to kill my mood for a second. And then, once I'm able to take a deep breath, whenever that may be, I'm able to laugh or just reflect and realize, girl, you're really shipping yourself up over this sympathy. It's really all a part of the journey, all a part of the process when it comes to overcoming any steps, to overcoming any inexperience. So you want to research and learn. You want to start small. It doesn't matter what it is. You want to start small. As the term says, one was not built in a day and you cannot try to conquer Mount Everest on your first day. We know how that is going to go. You want to seek guidance. Find a mentor, find people who are doing something similar to what you're doing or the same thing. Reach out to them, make that connection and they'll be able to provide you with any sort of support and advice that you may need. Practice regularly. Consistency is key. You want to set aside time each day or week to practice so that you can continue to grow and improve in your craft. You want to embrace mistakes because, again, mistakes aren't failures, they are simply learning opportunities. One of the questions that someone asked me, as it relates to this topic, was staying motivated and finding joy. And if I can be very rich, my friend, you know staying motivated can be tough. It can be tough especially when the process or even your progress seems super slow or just slow in general. It's very important that you set realistic goals to keep yourself on track. Celebrate small victories, whether it's finishing a chapter of a book whereas for me, I'm reading a book right now and it's been taking me forever to read this book but what I do now is I try to read one chapter a night to just you know. Again, celebrate that small victory and just start in small, you know so, whether it's finishing a chapter of a book or nailing a chord on a guitar, or if you're playing the piano, if you're trying to knit, you know someone talked to me about knitting. I'm like when I was in first form, second form, I did not really pay close attention in craft. So me and knitting we don't go together, you know. But a positive mindset is going to go a long way. Remind yourself why you started in the first place and don't be afraid to share your journey with your friends or try to join a group of like-minded individuals, because your support can be a huge motivator. When I started Squad Black Peers, I had no idea what I was doing. I took my class and elective in my undergrad and I did a nonprofit class. I was able to build the nonprofit through that class and even now we are getting ready to be four years old, I still don't even know what I'm doing. For the most part, I'm going to be honest because building a nonprofit organization having big goals for said organization, I'm having to grow as a leader. I'm still learning. There's so many things I want us to do, but I'm having to realize that I have to start small. I have to do my research. I have to start small. I have to seek guidance, which is something that I do because I am not ashamed to seek help when it comes to helping me and my nonprofit organization, because I know what the end goal is at the end of the day. So you definitely want to have that support because it can be a huge motivator. But celebrate small victories and just set realistic goals. That way you'll be able to keep yourself on track. And I had. I was having a conversation in my DM and I remember a friend of mine. We were talking about what we're doing for the summer. Well, I say friend, but you know cause you are my friend Talking about what we're doing for the summer and I remember one of them said that they are going to pick up knitting and basically they were struggling with the basics, even finding it relaxing and rewarding. But, however, it was just hard. And I remember telling him. I said, child, let me tell you, when they were teaching us that in school, I had no idea I was not paying attention. So I couldn't even go back to my basic asking class from first form, second form, because I don't forget everything. I was that student at that one point in time. Okay, but then another question that I get asked a lot is how do you stay motivated when you're really bad at something new? And I think that's a very, very that's like a great question and I never even know how to answer that question sometimes. But I will say one of the first thing is that it's very crucial to shift your mindset from focusing solely on the outcome to appreciating the learning process itself. And I said that as a nonprofit founder and as the host of this podcast. I had to shift my mindset from focusing on the outcome only but appreciating and learning the process itself. I had to learn how to edit these podcast episodes before I was able to get an editor. You know, I had to find a team of people who are going to share the same mission and vision for me and my organization, who's going to understand what I want the bigger picture and I had to shift that mindset and start small, because when we're starting something new, it doesn't matter how big or small it is. It's very natural and I still experience this from time to time too it's very natural to compare ourselves to those who've been doing it for years. Let me tell you that used to eat me up honey, comparing myself to people who's been doing it for years. Let me tell you that used to eat me up honey, comparing myself to people who's been doing something for 10, 15, 20 years when I'm literally just starting something. So, again, you have to remember that they were once beginners too, and there was an influencer who I follow who basically said that line. Sometimes we're busy comparing ourselves to other people's chapter when we're just now starting ours, and they were once beginners too. So you have to remember that. You know they've made mistakes, they've stumbled, but they've had to learn along the way, just like how you will. So if you're somebody who you want to pick up, the arts, the craft, music, start a business, whatever it is, just remember that everyone was once a beginner and the womb was not built in the day. And we're going to stumble. We're going to make mistakes, but the most important thing is to shift that mindset and to learn along the way, one of the things, some tips, that I want you to remember when it comes to keeping your motivation up. These are some of the things that I do. Sometimes I fall off the wagon and the wagon leaves me, but then it always comes back to me, but these are some of the things that I'm going to share, that I what I do in order to keep myself motivated, because I pride myself on being a self motivator, but there are moments when I need other people to motivate me, like my family and my close friends, those who understand the way how my mind works, sometimes so, but these are some of the things that I do, and and the first thing is celebrate small wins. That's something that took me a very, very, very long time to do what is said, and sometimes I even still struggle with that. So that's one of my things. That's why I put it first on the list. Every tiny bit of process, my friend, is a victory. You were able to paint a section on your canvas, you celebrated. You were able to write a grant for a nonprofit, you celebrated. You were able to write the grant for a non-profit. You celebrated. You were able to register a business you celebrated. You were able to apply to school. You celebrate all these, it doesn't matter what it is. You were able to buy a journal or create a journal. You were able to write one sentence in your journal. You were able to meditate for one minute. You want to celebrate these small wins because these small successes are going to build your confidence and keep you moving forward. I don't often get the time to sit and celebrate my small wins, but when I do, let me tell you that confidence that comes with it like nobody can stop me. I'm on my way. I don't care who you are. I don't care if I have to fall, trip, stumble. I'm going to get it and I'm going to keep going because what these small wins are keeping me motivated to keep moving forward. You want to keep a journal so that you can track your progress in a journal. I recently bought me a new journal from might have been Target, I think Either Target or Walmart Might have been Target, not me, not me, not me out here shutting out these companies. But the point is I recently bought a new journal because one thing I'm going to do I'm going to write. I have multiple notebooks with so many different things from years ago, but I bought this particular journal and this book that I'm going to use as a journal so that I can write down because of where I am in my life right now. But, personally and professionally, I want to be able to write down what I learned. So I'm encouraging you to keep a journal so you can write down what you learned, the challenges you faced and how you overcame them, and that's something that I've been doing in this brand new journal that I bought. I prayed over the journal first if I can be transparent and then I started writing now tracking the progress, what I learned, what challenge did I face and how did I overcome that, or how am I going to overcome the challenges that I'm facing right now, because I'll tell you what looking back at where you started can be very motivating and it shows you just how far you've come. Like we take that for granted when you realize where you were two weeks ago, two years ago, to where you are now, so being able to track that progress. So when you hear me talk about journal, journal, journal, journal, all this time like a broken record. I'm so serious when you write down what you learned, what the challenge that you faced, what steps you took to overcome them or what steps you want to take to overcome them. Let's start there. That's going to motivate you and it's going to show you how far you've come and you're going to want to keep going more and more and more, because it's very easy for us to keep things in our head, but if you have this brain like mine that has a million things in there writing down something One, it helps to manifest something, but also you're able to look back and see where you're coming from. You also want to set realistic goals. Again, break down your goals or your interests essentially into smaller, achievable goals. You may not be an expert in whatever interest you have on expert. Instead of trying to aim to be an expert overnight, focus on mastering one element at a time. This is going to make the learning curve feel more manageable and it's going to be less overwhelming because you're able to savor and enjoy that moment. But you're not trying to be an expert. You're taking your time to learn so that you can master, whatever it is, one element, one moment at a time as well. One of the most important things as well is to finally join the activity. You want to be able to enjoy that moment, whatever it is. Enjoy the activity for yourself. If you're learning to cook, savor the fun of experimenting with flavors, even if the dish is not perfect. Because I can't tell you how many times friends that I've had who are chefs that they will tell me do X, y, z, y z and I'm like, oh my goodness, it's not coming out the way in which you told me, or it's not coming out how yours come out. And I remember one time I think the individual told me my friend at the time, um, who's a chef should told me that you know, instead of focusing on my food, turning out the way how his food was turning out, I need to focus on the moment, and just you know what it is that I was able to learn how to experiment with my flavors or how to make something, and since then I'm like you know what? I'm no professional chef, so I'm going to cook and make sure the food is how it is. You know what I mean. If you're learning to dance, enjoy the rhythm and movement. You know, even if your steps aren't flawless and you maybe ought to be like me sometimes. You know, just enjoy that moment. If you're, if you like to write and you want to write, that you want to hone your writing skills, just write. You don't have to have the correct punctuation spelling, whatever, just write. Just try to find joy in the activity, whatever it is. If you're someone who wants to go to pharmacy school and you're like, oh my goodness, how did I come this become interested in this? Or you're someone who wants to go to pharmacy school and you're like, oh my goodness, how did I become interested in this? Or you're someone who wants to go to medical school but now you want to go to public health or social work, just find a joy in what it is in the journey to get to where you're going to. You know what I mean. You want to seek community support. You know. Lean on your friends who are understanding who. They support you. You can join groups or different forums where people are learning about the same thing, because the beauty of the world that we live in right now is that there's always going to be some sort of group or whatever it is on social media that you can find in a positive way where you can share your experience, because too many times sometimes we think that our friends and our siblings, our family, understand what we're doing. Are we seeking support from them when, in fact, you know they can understand the journey that we're on? That we seeking support from them when, in fact, you know they can understand the journey that we're on? That's no shade to them or not knocking them. We just have to understand that where we are in life, sometimes wanting, we have to be mindful of who we're wanting the support from or how we're getting that support, because of course, you know family and friends. They're going to support us, but if they can't understand, what is it that we're trying to do? You know you want to have that support from people who are encountering similar experiences with you, because that can be motivating and reassuring as well and they'll be able to remind you. You know what. You are a beginner. It's okay to be a beginner and, like I mentioned, you know, embrace your mistakes. Instead of viewing the mistakes as failure, see them as learning opportunities. And just remember again, it's perfectly okay to be bad at something new at first. The goal isn't perfection I had to learn it the hard way but progress and enjoyment. So I'm going to say it again the goal isn't perfection, but progress and enjoyment. So embrace the journey, stay curious and have fun with it. Over time, my friend, you'll find that what once seemed difficult becomes a source of pride and joy, and that's how I feel when it comes to Tea with Tanya podcast, when it comes to my nonprofit, when it comes to even going to grad school. That was something totally new to me and I was like, oh my goodness, how am I going to go to school full time, work full time? But I was able to find that joy in learning. You know what I mean. So you definitely want to tap into that aspect of who you are really and truly. You definitely want to remember that you can navigate these new experiences. You may not have these interests, but you may not have the experience. I don't want you to not follow these interests but you may not have the experience. I don't want you to not follow through with your heart. Follow your gut, because, at the end of the day, it's very important that you do something for you. So, as I come to an end, just remember that exploring your interests is about growth, learning and having fun. Don't let fear or inexperience hold you back. Start small, stay curious and celebrate every step forward, because, who knows, you might just discover a new passion or skill that brings you immense joy. Okay, you don't have to have it all figured out. You don't need a PhD, a college degree, whatever the interest is. It's very important that you follow through because it's going to help you to grow as a person. You may not have not one little experience. Listen, there's people out here applying to jobs, honey, that don't even have the experience, and they're applying because they have that confidence and they have that faith in themselves. So, start small, stay curious and just celebrate every step forward and along this way, you'll be able to discover new passion or skill and you'll be able to become that expert or become more experienced in whatever it is that you're wanting to do. I hope this episode was inspiring to you, taking from my experience and how I've done things, as somebody who's new out here in the field of podcasting and a non-profit founder. You know even someone who's getting back on her journaling game because she's falling off and she's now trying to find different ways to make journaling more fun for her again. Just that small, just that small. So I hope you enjoyed today's episode and you have been inspired in some way, shape or form, or I've inspired you to take the plunge into something new. It's very, very important that you do that. So thank you for joining me here for this first episode of our solar summer series. Like I say, you may see a friend popping in here and there or not, but I hope this episode finds you in great spirit and remember until I see you again. Please do something for yourself. I'll see you next week in the Tea Tasting Room. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Tea with Tanya. If you liked this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on Instagram at T with Tanya podcast, be sure to subscribe to the weekly T-Talk newsletter and, of course, rate on Apple or Spotify and subscribe wherever you listen. See you next time. I love you for listening.