Biggest Fan

'I am my biggest fan'. I liked those simple words coming from an artist friend describing how her walls are covered with her own art. We should be our biggest fans since we have so much control over what we end up doing. A wariness of arrogance or a fear that we will be found out often stops us from doing things. Fans don't have to worry about being humble. They are not talking about themselves. Perhaps in the cacophony in our heads, we can permit one or two all out cheerleading, supporting fans. As a South African with British links, I am always nervous of things being fake. I try and approach this hesitance with 'fluffy positivity' by having conversations with my younger cynical self.

A younger cynical self not a fan of fluff

Even cynical Trev was all about figuring out the best way to do things. There are things we know and much more that we don't know. There is a big gap in between and much of that gap is filled with stories. Once you accept that you can't know everything, you are often wrong, and the world is more complicated that you think - you still have to act. In acting, we have to take account of those inner voices and how they are motivated. We are quite good at this with others. I discussed in 'Parenting your Elephant' how good we are with children and helping them learn. We are patient, compassionate and supportive. Well, when we are good parents/uncles/teachers etc. We also typically attempt to be good managers, leaders, colleagues etc. Then sometimes we switch this off when it comes to ourselves and focus on all the things we are doing wrong. That is not the best way to do things.

Be your biggest fan.