Yooooooo, not wanting master something cuz it’s the practice that isn’t fun is such galaxy brain framing! It unlocked something in my brain. Like it explains why I stopped some hobbies and now I’m free from thinking I’d need to get back into them lmao
thinking about dance classes was the first time that really clicked for me - obviously some of what made that not fun was that it was in a school environment and I *had* to do it, and obligation already makes things a chore when they wouldn't be otherwise, but when I was taking dance as a class the repetition of the same steps over and over again to a song that i didn't love (i didn't hate it but it wasn't one i wanted to listen to on repeat) and having to both keep track of my own body and also everyone else's sucked all the fun out of it.
i thought i just didn't like dancing, but once I got older and had more opportunities to dance for fun, i realized that the thing i liked about dance was how it made me feel when i was doing it, and that wasn't something that would improve if i was technically better at it.
and there's some things that do increase in satisfaction/pleasure when you get better at them, and in that case it can sometimes be worth it to me to figure out ways around the boredom and frustration of practice, like taking multiple short practice sessions instead of one big one, or adding some other stimulus that i do like as a reward (like playing music i like while i do cosplay crafts). but sometimes the answer is that it's not worth it! the satisfaction i get from it is enough for me as it is!
(also i'm so happy that the idea was helpful! it was a huge relief the first time i was able to really internalize "i am happy with this without needing to be good at it".)
