So today my car battery died, couldn’t even be revived with a jump. I was able to walk to an auto store to get tools and a new battery (damn that mfer was heavier than I expected). I had never had to replace my own car battery before.
I screwed the fastener nuts the wrong way for like 5 minutes, cut my hand, and ultimately accidentally crossed the positive and negative terminals with a wrench that exploded in sparks. I don’t even know what stopped me from being electrocuted but I didn’t feel a thing.
While I’m happy I was able to take care of it myself and will be able to in the future, I also feel like such a dunce for not knowing wtf I was doing and almost shocking myself
Being handy isn’t something you just are, it’s a skill built up by not getting killed while trying to be handy. First time I tried to fix a plug socket I forgot to turn off the supply at the fuse box and accidentally shorted the wires. First time I tried to fix a broken headphone wire I just ended up with a mess of wire and solder. First time I tried to replace a light socket I found that the building had been wired before current wire colour standardisation and had to call 3 different people to find out what to do.
Today you made at least 3 avoidable mistakes, but you also successfully changed your car battery, and now if you need to do it again you can avoid those mistakes. You might have injured yourself and your pride, but you tried and you succeeded. You can do it again. You are now handy.