In essence, FAT-I-PP is a cheeky acronym to help you remember key mindsets when you are learning something new, adapting to change, and in a phase of growth in your life.
F is for Focus: Give your attention wholly to this new task in order to make progress.
A is for Acceptance: Accept that you are going to make mistakes and that aiming for perfection is setting yourself up for disappointment.
T is for Time: Give yourself the gift of time to adjust, for your brain to absorb the new information and learn by doing.
I is for Investment: View this experience as an investor would in a new building or business venture, trial and error, learning and growth are part of what it takes to succeed. See the potential in yourself that others can’t.
PP is for Positivity and Persistence: Learning, growth, and change without positivity and persistence are nearly impossible. Remaining willing to continue trying when things just don’t work out or you make a mistake requires persistence. And without positivity, you can easily lose motivation to carry on.
FAT-I-PP
Yesterday I had the pleasure and somewhat painful experience of attempting something I have never tried before. It was more difficult than I had ever imagined learning a thing could be! During the process of a three-hour workshop I hit the lows, highs, and frustrations of learning something for the first time. I absorbed the negativity from those around me, and took note of those who quit while others persisted. So, I thought I’d share with you the FAT-I-PP method for developing a learning and change ready mindset!
FAT-I-PP is a new acronym that I developed this morning while I was thinking about the struggles I faced during this workshop and the steep learning curve like no other I remember facing before. The workshop was crocheting for beginners, just in case you were wondering. But bear with me, because I though it would be a little fun to create an acronym that would be memorable and help you if you ever found yourself in the weeds learning a new skill or attempting to change something in your life!
The F in FAT-I-PP is for Focus
While I was at this workshop, I had to focus my entire attention on both the instructions and then the act of doing what was instructed. I was all fingers and thumbs, shaky and awkward as a newborn calf would be. To progress I had to apply a huge amount of focus to tasks that to the instructors were as second nature as breathing.
When learning a new skill it is important to give it the attention it deserves if you really truly want to embrace the change. Focusing on learning one thing at a time is also an important aspect of learning. Because, if you try and take on too much change all at once you will likely overwhelm yourself with “failure” and become discouraged by your “lack” of progress.
The A in FAT-I-PP is for Acceptance
Remember that while you’re learning you’re a rookie! You won’t be perfect the first time you try something new. Give yourself a chance to learn and grow. And allow yourself the space to grow without pressure.
The fear of failure is often what’s stops people from achieving the things they want in life, but really to get anywhere you’re going to make mistakes. It is more about how you deal with those mistakes, and whether you learn and improve (however minuscule the improvement seems to be).
Be kind to yourself and enjoy the process of learning. Remove the pressure to be fabulous the first time around and just relax.
And try not to down grade your attempts by saying you are “terrible at this,” or “I just can’t do it.”
The T in FAT-I-PP is for Time.
When you’re learning allow yourself time and space to learn at your own pace. Avoid trying to push beyond what you are capable of before you’re ready. Your brain is adjusting to this new skill or way of thinking and it can be rather frustrating when you just don’t seem to be ‘getting it’. You may get frustrated at yourself for not figuring it out or being able to achieve perfection.
The trick here is to just know that learning anything takes time, and this coupled with your new-found attitude of Acceptance will help you to keep going when others just give up because they haven’t quite got it yet.
The I in FAT-I-PP is for Investment
Ok so, you’re applying diligence and focusing your energy. While doing this you’ve accepted that you’re a rookie learning the ropes of this new thing. And you’re allowing yourself some time and space to breathe and now we come to the I in the FAT-I-PP learning and change mindset and that is investment.
Everything you ever learn or do to change yourself for the better is an investment in you. How investors view life is by understanding that whatever they input now could be much more in the future. For example to the investor who took the chance and invested in the right stock, which over time gains in value and eventually becomes much larger and more consequential. In this example the investor could see what others couldn’t, the potential for growth!
The same is true for us. If we never take the chance to do something outside of our comfort zone we may never know what it may have become. It takes time to develop the skills and change parts of ourselves that we may not like, but the investment is always worth it. Unlike the stock market investing in yourself always pays dividends.
Just trust yourself and invest in you! (If you want some ideas on how to invest in yourself this post is written for you!)
The PP in FAT-I-PP is for Positivity and Persistence
The learning and change mindset wouldn’t quite be complete without the two P’s of FAT-I-PP, or Positivity and Persistence.
As we discussed earlier, learning takes time. Whether it’s swapping a bad habit for a better one, or learning a new skill, you’ll need to give it many attempts before you start to see any kind of improvement. Remember you’ve never done this before, and your brain and /or body aren’t used to what you’re asking it to do.
Keep On Going
So, relax and remember it takes many steps to make it to the top of a mountain or to invent an incandescent light bulb (thanks Thomas Edison). Edison tried and experimented over and over again persisting in the face of frustration, and doubt, which I’m sure like all humans he must have had. He continued to believe in his idea and had steady resolve to work toward that goal.
We should take a leaf out of Thomas Edison’s book and keep our eye on the prize, knowing that each step is one forward toward success (however we choose to define it).
While learning, I believe positivity has a huge part to do with that desire to continue to push and persist even when we are not seeing the desired results from our effort.
Trying and not reaching perfection aka failing aka working toward your goals/dreams is all about perspective. A simple thing like the way you choose to label your attempts toward your goal can make all the difference. Some words fuel you to persist and continue to try and learn, grow, and battle toward the goal of changing what you know and what you can do.
The Doubter
In all minds there wages a bit of a war between what I like to call the Dreamer, the Doubter, and the Doer. The Doubter will derail you if you let it, and the way you help it is by feeding it with negativity. Positivity is the antidote to the Doubting mindset and will help you to keep persisting long after everyone else has decided to give up.
Don’t talk yourself down or away from achieving what the Dreamer in you is thrilled to be pursuing. Avoid casting yourself as being “terrible” or “horrible” and stay positive!
Although positivity is powerful, it doesn’t mean that you will never doubt yourself or your abilities to learn. These thoughts will probably surface but if you employ positivity then they become less powerful and you become more likely to persist past the frustration and the doubt. You become more likely to see your improvements and this will spur you on to continue until you have learned what you want to or changed to a level that you are satisfied with.
To Learn is to Change
The learning mindset is one of change, of growth, and sometimes it’s of that inner struggle between the Doubter in you and the Dreamer. In all cases, it is always better to get on and let the Doer in you persist in the face of adversity. Keep on trying and use positivity to keep you motivated and on track, because you realize that you’re not just investing for today, but tomorrow as well. Stay focused and give yourself the permission to learn at your own pace and in time you’ll see the change and it’ll all be worth it!