I invited my neighbor over to play ping pong. It was not fun. He made no attempt to get his shots on the table. He insisted that we play his version in which the rules, the table and the net were irrelevant. I went along with it since he was my guest, but I have not invited him to play since.

They had ping pong in the dorms at my college. I stood in line to play the students who dominated the table. I had considered myself a good player, but these guys were at another level. I wanted to play like them, and the way to learn was to get in line, get beaten, and get in line again. It was humiliating to get skunked, that is, to lose without scoring a single point, but I became a much better player because I was able to let failure be a part of the process.

Had my neighbor been open to learning how to play a year ago, by now he would have become good. He limited himself by not being willing to fail. By not trying, he risked nothing.

Give yourself permission to fail. 

Play safe and have fun.