The Power of Slow Thinking | Brass Tack Thinking

The Power of Slow Thinking | Brass Tack Thinking

Turning toward our discomfort

Just because we think, "that's already been done" doesn't mean we shouldn't attempt our version of "it".

We limit ourselves because we fear exposure to potential criticism by our boss, co-workers, customers, stake-holders, friends, and society at large. Can we deal with the negative comments on a blog that we whole-heartedly wrote? Are we going to remember the one negative comment and forget the 10 positive ones? Are we going to criticize ourselves for exposing our vulnerabilities? This is an inherent danger with social media. Anyone can see; anyone can judge; anyone can criticize...simply because they can.

We could try to turn toward our discomfort and fear. This is especially important when we find ourselves limiting our opportunities due to the shame and fear of not being good enough, not being original enough, not having the most insightful links, tweets, pictures, or status updates.

We need to take full advantage of opportunities to be creative and work with something we are passionate about. That passion and creativity has the potential to make a positive impact in our profession, enrich our personal lives, and lead us down the path to self-fulfillment, originality, and authenticity.

As Brené Brown astutely points out: choosing authenticity means among other things allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and to let go of what we think we are supposed to be and embrace who we are.

Follow your heart, be imperfect, set boundaries, and cultivate courage. Let’s turn toward our discomfort with curiosity and compassion. Slowly we can learn to tolerate it, embrace it, and allow it, which will effectively eliminate its’ power over us.