Starting new things…
When we start something new we are incredibly vulnerable, and we are excited that we are trying some new things. Sadly awkward and uncomfortable comes after the excitement. Brené Brown’s definition of vulnerability, is uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure.
Don’t let being afraid of the vulnerability mean you stop trying, if we don’t have the expertise we don’t want to try, but this will limit us.
If we stop growing – we stop living. You need to feel the discomfort of being a new learner. The awkwardness will pass as the more we do it the more we can try normalise the discomfort. To feel unsure and uncertain is courage.
Brown names starting things for the first time “FFT” which stands for “F*#-@$+” First Time, the out of control moment. By naming it, you take back control in effect language is a handle!! By naming experiences and feelings its gives you power and you have a hold on it.
The FFT can also be called TFT if the first F is offensive – Terrible First Time
Just by saying out loud “This is Terrible it is my first time…”
or “This is a “FFT”
There are 3 parts to the FFT:-
| Normalise it – this is discomfort but I have to accept it, name it and work with it |
| Perspective – you will not feel like this forever – this will not be new forever |
| Reality checking – know where you are |
The pandemic was new to us all and we all felt a FFT together.
- Normalise it – we don’t know how to do it, we had never experienced anything like it before so it was OK to be anxious and OK to name it and own it. For our children we needed to be modelling what uncertainty looked like – name it and feel it
- Perspective – we don’t know when this will end, however this will not last forever.
- Reality checking – to be patient and to listen with the same passion as you want to be heard and to ask for what you need
This week push yourself with a FFT, thrive in the discomfort as you are growing and being vulnerable is far more courageous than avoiding something new. Please reach out to bev@nuggetsoflearning.co.uk
