Swap “I’m bad at this” for “I’m new at this.” Same skill level, completely different future.

Both descriptions fit the same present moment, and only one of them leaves a door open. Bad suggests a settled fact about you, while new describes a position on a path, which is accurate and happens to be useful. The words are not a trick, since neither changes what you can do today. They change what you expect in six months, and that changes whether you keep going.

Catch the phrase this week and correct it out loud. Add how long you have actually been doing the thing. The number is usually embarrassingly small.