When we get that great idea, there’s a driving force, and a resisting force.
The driving force – you could call it your dream, your journey, the change you want to see…
Then the resisting force could come from outside: the status quo, a boss, your parents, or, it could come from one of the four “selfs:” self minimisation, self reflection, self criticism and self importance.
Self minimisation: This is when we start the thought process off with a minimising line: “I’ve never done this before, so it won’t be that great…” “I’ve never been good at creative work…” or, “I’m always terrible at this, so…”
Self minimisation gets us off the hook of real feedback, and puts the brakes on before we even begin.
Self reflection: This is a huge one in the modern “growth” culture. The ability to self reflect at increasingly deep levels. While self reflection isn’t a bad thing, there’s an inflection point where we can go so deep here so constantly, that we lose all the energy that we need to move forward.
Self criticism: Usually post-event. “I sucked at that,” “That was no good…” This is a pretty obvious one, but still can creep in pretty fast. Again, while feedback and reflection on the work is helpful, self criticism tends not to be.
Self importance: This is where we put the importance of our image or reputation above the importance of our work, on an ongoing basis. Self importance leads to perfectionism, inability to create, stalling on ideas, or holding back on difficult conversations. It often stems from the idea that “if this doesn’t work,” it will be a bad thing, rather than just a learning experience.
If we can move past the four selfs, we can pick up a little speed.
We can free up energy and get on with the work that we want to do.
