Discomfort of the New

Whenever we speak of "novelty", we think of fun, enjoyable, shiny, new experiences that wear off once we get used to it. It's one of the reasons why we are told to break the routine or take a holiday: to experience novelty. However, anything new becomes old when done many times. The novelty can only last so long before it becomes a routine.

But can we talk about how scary it is to try something new?

I've been working partially as a barista at a local coffee bar and let me tell you, picking up a new skill at the ripe age of 30 is terrifying. The skills I could bring from my old jobs are super cliché things like teamwork and organisation. And maybe how to deal with people?

But nothing prepared me to confront the feeling of facing small but consistent failures. When people talk about learning to accept failure so that we can succeed, they always talk about major failures like losing a job, running a business to the ground or being cheated by a business partner. They don't talk about the consistent, micro-failures you get in your day-to-day that creep up and affect your view of yourself.

And of course, people may have this view that the job I do is unimportant. It's just making drinks, it's not a big deal. Everyone can do that.

I'd like to see everyone try to pull a shot of espresso, steam some milk, pour the steamed milk and foam to get different shapes on top, and serve it within 2 minutes. Also, ensure you consistently get the same temperature, shape, foaminess and texture every single time. And if something goes wrong, you need to figure out where you went wrong; and fix it! Fun!

It's uncomfortable, especially when you have younger colleagues who started much earlier than you did. But I take it all in my stride. Learning and un-learning are uncomfortable. We need to start somewhere. Baby steps, as they say.

And I've been taking many baby steps, indeed.