Receive Valuable Tools

Receive valuable tools is often something I see in the “why you should attend this workshop.”

Yet, there is an inherent flaw in this logic.

When I had an issue with my bathtub, I called a plumber.

He arrived with his toolbox, which had many tools.

He could have told me the names of the tools, handed them to me, and described what I should do with each one, and I’m positive I would have had no idea how to fix water leaking out of my tub!

Experts often claim that we need to use tools to overcome moments of discomfort or deal with stress.

Don’t get me wrong- tools are great.

And yet, unless I have worked with a tool, learning what it is and how it works, trying it out, and moving through experiences with it to understand how it works in my own life, I won’t remember it when I’m completely overwhelmed.

I’m going to do the thing I always do- because it’s familiar and it’s a pattern and I’m used to it.

This is why I don’t give my students tons of information or tools to try out on their own. I lead them through experiences to have a new way of understanding from the inside out first.

Believe me, I love a good shortcut, especially in math. But unless I went through long-division at some point in my life, I’m just not going to understand how to get the answers just because I have a calculator.

And that’s what I want for you. To have a way to find your own answers by diving in and exploring a new way of doing something by being guided through low-stakes experiences first.