I remember the first time I developed a writing callus in seventh grade. That must have been the time I began doing enough writing with a pencil to require a little physical buffer, and my finger obliged. (These days, I don’t do enough handwriting to build a new callus, but you can still tell if I’m left- or right-handed if you check.)
Maybe it seems like a major detraction to build a callus, but to me it’s a sign of success. If it’s a skill you want to develop, the callus can be a sign that you’re on the right track.
Calluses aren’t always physical. There’s the callus of waking early on the weekends, because you’ve developed the habit of early rising. There’s the callus of memorizing an “A”. There’s the callus of hearing more clearly the tuning errors in a difficult chord, because you’ve learned discernment and a better sense of harmony. There’s the callus of developing slight nearsightedness because you spend so much time reading. These types of calluses all point to time spent developing a specific skill.
There are also the calluses we do best to avoid. Wrist pain from faulty piano playing. Vocal damage from shaky vocal technique. These kinds of calluses are to be identified early and prevented!
What calluses, invisible or visible, are you most proud of?