Over the past year I have been working 20 hours a week at a company that makes wheelchair accessories. After 50 years of sewing everything from my first 4-H project to stage costumes to wedding gowns, I found a whole new world of sewing with heavy-duty machines, making positioning vests and belts and pads of all sorts.
Despite my extensive sewing experience, however, I still approach every new experience with a moment of panic. Ridiculous, but it goes something like this:
"Sure, so far I've been able to learn everything I needed to learn. But this thing could be the thing that shows me I'm actually not smart or good at all. I will fail and everyone will see I am a fake. I've been faking it this whole time......."
These thoughts continue for minutes or even hours until I experience enough success that I can make this stupid voice in my head shut up. Silly, right? After all, given my history of building skills I should expect to learn whatever I wish to learn. But the mind is a strange thing and I always have this moment of self-doubt.
The lesson? Know when your brain is telling you a lie. This silly thought I get when confronting a challenge is just a bit of stage fright. On the up side, at least I am not arrogantly declaring that I am the master of all things sewing--that would be far worse than that bit of fear I have before operating a new machine. And that bit of hesitation has probably helped by making me a bit cautious--a good thing when using a machine with a needle that could break a finger!
What new skills have you learned lately? Did you approach learning with fear, excitement, or a bit of both?
