Have you ever gone back to something you used to do well, and been surprised at how hard it felt?
This week I sat down and tried something I hadn’t done in months. Not because I’d forgotten how. Just because I hadn’t done it in a while, and the gap showed.
I’ve talked before about the idea of the “perfect executive”, the version of you that never fumbles, always has the right words, and glides through everything without effort. That person doesn’t exist. Chasing them is exhausting, and it gets you nowhere.
Read more about What Would Leo Do here:
The trap of comparing yourself to someone who was never real
When you go back to something after a break, a skill, a conversation, a piece of work, it’s easy to measure yourself against the sharp, effortless version of you that you remember. That version never existed either. Skill fades a little when you stop using it. That’s not failure. That’s just how it works.
So how do you actually get back into something you’ve gone rusty at?
1. Say it out loud first. “I’m out of practice” is a simple sentence, and it does a lot of work. It gives you permission to be slower today than you’ll be next week.
2. Do it anyway, imperfectly. The only way rust wears off is by using the thing again. Waiting until you feel ready just keeps you waiting.
3. Notice what comes back faster than you expected. Something usually does, and it’s worth naming it out loud.
4. Let people see the effort, not only the result. Confidence doesn’t come from hiding the struggle. It comes from showing up to it.
There’s an idiom for this: getting back on the bike. After you fall off, literally or otherwise, the only way back to confidence is climbing back on and pedalling again, wobble and all. Nobody expects you to ride perfectly the first time back.
I tested this exact idea on camera this week, attempting a puzzle live after six months away from it, no practice, no safety net.
Give this a try next time you’re nervous about picking something back up: say “I’m rusty, not incapable” before you start, and see what changes about how you show up.
Can you beat me at Wordle?
Watch me do a Wordle 6-months rusty. Got it in 4!