What Would Life Be Like If We Allowed Ourselves to FIFO?
Recently someone told me of an initiative in the workplace called FIFO (Figure It the Fuck Out). I still smile when I think about it. When you face a problem, instead of being paralyzed by not knowing what to do, you FIFO….. Or, instead of continually bringing up problems for others to fix, you FIFO.
The simplicity of the message to workers is perfection.
Permission to FIFO empowers people to problem solve on their own. Making mistakes, fixing mistakes, learning what works. It is all baked into FIFO, and it is sanctioned by leadership.
Think a bit more about the message of faith here. Leadership is saying that they believe in workers’ ability to FIFO independently.
(Clearly, I am not talking about high level problems where a person needs support or help and should be afraid to ask for help. I am talking about everyday concerns.)
I love this idea, and it got me thinking of how much more effective and productive we would all be if we gave ourselves permission to FIFO.
I had a flashback to my childhood. I grew up in a homogenous, rural community where the unspoken, subconscious goal was to fit in at all costs. I can clearly recall times when I voiced opinions that diverged from my classmates, and I was openly chastised. I learned that my organic ideas were not to be trusted. Ergo, I wasn’t to be trusted to FIFO, and I wasted years not trusting myself. I had ideas left unvoiced due to fear. I had opinions kept to myself due to doubt. I had my own personality hidden due to shame. And, now I realize that it was all BS.
I actually knew things that other people didn’t know. My perspective was valuable. I just needed to give myself permission to be different, but this was a huge ask for a kid and teenager. Unfortunately, the messages of “not okay” stayed with me for far too long, and I was too afraid to FIFO for fear I was not to be trusted.
A lot of people struggle with feeling okay, feeling accepted, feeling validated because of messages from family, peers, and other communities. These messages get in the way of FIFO’ing because they are still waiting for permission to trust themselves enough to try.
At some point, we can recognize that the messages we received were mistaken and that we have the power to be our own people, which leads to the question;
What if we all gave ourselves permissions to FIFO? What would this mean?
I propose that permission to FIFO is, most importantly, self-empowerment. It is permission to trust ourselves enough to know that we can FIFO. The ability is there. The power is there. The vision is there. We just have to step into the role.
Next, permission to FIFO assumes that we will make mistakes and encounter barriers, and that we will FIFO those too. FIFO’ing means that we are capable of the final solution in our own lives (which may mean asking for help).
Finally, permission to FIFO communicates that independent problem solving is part of being a healthy, successful adult. Anything that you learned along the way that interferes with FIFO’ing is messed up. It is mistaken. It is BS.
So many of the barriers to our wellness come from mistaken messages that we learned in early life. I wish I knew how to eradicate them. Even if we recognize that the early life messages are toxic, they will remain. Our job is to see them, identify that they are fucked up, move them aside, and FIFO.
If we give ourselves permission to FIFO in our own lives, we acknowledge that we have the power and ability; we have the room to make errors; and we have expert knowledge base to do so. No one knows your life better than you. If you don’t give yourself permission, you have closure on how far you will get.
Yet…..
Imagine for a moment how fucking awesome your life could be if you gave yourself permission to FIFO. Something didn’t go as planned? Oh well, FIFO. Want to reach a goal that seems far away? FIFO! Life is a shitshow? Welcome to the club. FIFO how to stop fighting it and create boundaries.
My entire point is that you are large and in charge despite what you may have heard otherwise. Your life is your life. Give yourself permission to FIFO.
Want to know more about the skills necessary to FIFO? Check out my book, Move on Motherf*cker: Live, Laugh, and Let Sh*t Go, available on Bookshop.org, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and New Harbinger.org.
