Still Learning at 60

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(Edited)

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?

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It’s a good thing to keep challenging our brains and learn new things to keep it occupied.

That’s such a nice photo of you 😊.

I think when I learn a new skill I approach it with both nervousness and excitement. The older I get the less fearful I am to try new things. I guess I’m getting over the fact of “what if I get it wrong?” or “what would people think of me?” It’s so freeing not letting those thoughts weigh me down like they used to.

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Honestly I'm most afraid of disappointing myself. Today I had one of those days where it took me a long time to get a new product right. It required a lot of careful handling of inside and outside curves as I guided it through a binding machine. I did get some right, but also did a lot of ripping and redoing. Builds character! !PIZZA

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I can definitely understand that. I agree that things like this does build character. 😉

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Great to hear about your sewing journey Kimberly, and well done overcoming your initial fear to learn something new each time, you tell your mind to fake it until you make it by the sound of it, and great advice to keep learning, thanks for sharing and stay awesome.


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You look lovely. I alwys feel scared and excited when I'm learning something new. I tell my daughter to never stop learning and that is also applicable to me. Even when it's scary, it is always good to try something new. It doesn't matter if we fail, that just means we get to try over again and learn some more.

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It's all in our head. !lol

!Luv your post and pic

What new skills have you learned lately? Did you approach learning with fear, excitement, or a bit of both?

Mostly business related as part of my journey with integrating technology to meet a growing need.
I respect fear and excitement along with passion. There was a time I talked myself out of many ideas or lived with missed opportunities but today I am more confident than ever. We cannot control how people receive what we share so that often becomes my biggest concern if not managed.

The one that gets me sometimes is, if in doubt, do you still go for it. At which point, you make sure you have knowledge of risk managemt.

Thanks again for sharing a great post.

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