The Permission to be a Work in Progress

As part of the Association Book Club I lead with Aaron Wolowiec, FASAE, CAE, CMP Fellow, we recently finished Amy Edmondson's The Right Kind of Wrong, and there is a passage I wanted to share because it speaks to something I have been thinking about for a long time:

"Pause to challenge the automatic thoughts that cause you pain and embarrassment. Next, reframe those thoughts to allow you to choose learning over knowing. To look outward and find energy and joy from seeing what you missed. At the core of the reframing task lie the words we use to express our thoughts, privately and aloud. Am I failing, or am I discovering something new? Do I believe I should have done better—and I’m bad for not having done so—or do I accept what happened and learn as much as I can from it? Am I okay with the discomfort that comes with new experiences? Will I give myself permission to be human? Permission to learn?"

I remember being younger and becoming increasingly aware of how others perceived me. And now, watching my own munchkins navigate adolescence, I see some of those same dynamics beginning to emerge. As we become more conscious of what others think about us, it's easy for that awareness to become self-doubt. We start measuring ourselves against the affirmation of others, and, sometimes, that comes at the expense of our own willingness to explore, experiment and learn.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Lowell Aplebaum's LinkedIn page.