BASHFUL BRAIN SYNDROME - Brittlestar’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue #40
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BASHFUL BRAIN SYNDROME
I’m doing my first in-person event since the pandemic this coming week.
It sounds like it will be a pretty fun time populated by some high rollers. I was flattered to be asked to emcee a part of it and I wanted to make sure I was good.
So, I blew off the cobwebs of the in-person event part of my brain and set to work creating a set list of what I was going to do.
Then I got stuck.
The more I pushed to get an idea, the more stuck I seemed to get.
Right before panic set in, I remembered an old trick that has yet to fail me…
I vacuumed the house.
I dragged out our ancient central vac house and head and started.
The hose twisted and kinked. The head bristles randomly kicked on and off and the plug powering them required constant fiddling. I had to move various things off the floor to make sure I wasn’t accidentally hoovering up something I wasn’t supposed.
All stuff that required my attention but not really any high level thinking.
While all of that show was happening, my brain was drifting. Thinking about the upcoming event and my set list. Suddenly it got a bit clearer. Then even clearer.
By the time I had finished, I had my set list basically organized.
It’s a difficult lesson to learn (and honestly, one I need to relearn time and again).
I like to think of it as Bashful Brain Syndrome.
You know, like Shy Bladder Syndrome… how sometimes you can’t ‘go’ when there are other people around waiting for you to ‘go’.
However when it comes to thinking of ideas, you yourself are the other people waiting for your brain to ‘go’. Your brain gets all bashful and nothing comes out.
Distraction is good.
If you’re stuck, go for a walk, clean the bathroom, tidy the garage, whatever. The answer or the idea is already in your head… or at the very least all the pieces to the answer or idea are already in there waiting to be put together.
You just need to give it some space and, before you know it, the ideas will be pouring out of you.
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Author (fully grown man) distracts brain by posing for selfie in parking lot