So what’s so bad about being so-so？[Part I]

The other afternoon I was playing the piano when my seven-year-old walked in. He stopped and listened for a while, then said: "You don't play that thing very well, do you, Mom?" No, I don't. My performance would make any serious music student weep, but I don't care. I've enjoyed playing the piano badly for years. I also enjoy singing badly and drawing badly. I'm not ashamed of my incompetence in these areas. I do one or two other things well and that should be enough for anybody. But it gets boring doing the same things over and over. Every now and then it's fun to try something new. Unfortunately, doing things badly has gone out of style. It used to be a mark of class if a lady or a gentleman sang a little, painted a little, played the violin a little. You didn't have to be good at it; the point was to be fortunate enough to have the leisure time for such pursuits. But in today's competitive world we have to be "experts" even in our hobbies. You can't tone up your body by pulling on your gym shoes and jogging around the block a couple of times anymore. Why? Because you'll be laughed off the street by the "serious runners"-- the ones who run twenty miles or more a week in their sixty-dollar running suits and fancy shoes.The shoes are really a big deal.If you say you're thinking about taking up almost any sport, the first thing the “serious” types will ask is what you plan to do about shoes. Leather or canvas? What type of soles? Which brand? This is not the time to mention that the gym shoes you wore in high school are still in pretty good shape. As far as sports enthusiasts are concerned, if you don't have the latest shoes you are hopelessly committed to embarrassing yourself.