In my first blog, titled, “Where to Begin,” there is a list that I said I would give insights into later. This is a bit later than I had intended, but here it goes.
Number 1 on that list was: Fearful of new things.
Because we are not good at processing new information quickly, a new thing can be very intimidating to us. We know that we may figure out how to deal with this new situation before we become overwhelmed. And once overwhelmed, all useful brain and motor function ceases, as it does with any individual.
Another key part of being scared of new things, is that we know that we are not good at motor planning. Motor planning is the ability to get youir body to do what you want it to do. We know that if this new thing starts to do something that makes us uncomfortable, we probably are not going to be able to get our bodies to do what we want fast enough to keep us from being overwhelmed.
An example of this would be my son’s fear of learning how to pour his own cereal. He knew that there was a large risk of cereal spilling, and he knew that if that started to happen, he probably wouldn’t be able to take the necessary actions to stop the mess until it had become big and overwhelming.
Eventually, because he was tired out being outdone by his little sister, he decided that he would try and pour the cereal. Sure enough, as the bowl started to overflow, all he could do was watch the cereal pour all over the table and cry for help.
He wasn’t able to decide quickly enough what to do about the spilling cereal. And even as he realized that he should stop pouring the cereal, he wasn’t sure how to make his body do that, and couldn’t tell his body to move because he felt so overwhelmed by the mess.
An example in my life as an adult will have to follow, as it is time to get the kids up for school.
"Most Likely to Succeed" 