2021 / January

But it’s hard to rap when you’re born with a st-st-st, st, st-st, st, st-t, st-t, stutter!

Stutter Rap by Morris Minor and the Majors

Photo by Harry Swales on Unsplash

We started with the B-side so now for the A-side. This week’s song choice is Stutter Rap by Morris Minor and the Majors, or in other words the a-side to Another Boring B-Side. If last week’s song started to explore the idea that we don’t need to be perfect, this week’s song builds on the idea going even further.

Well my life was so well planned survivin’ and a-jivin’ in a f-f-funk band ’cause rappin’, it’s my, bread and butter but it’s hard to rap when you’re born with a st-st-st, st, st-st, st, st-t, st-t, stutter!

The song is about someone with a stutter wanting to be a rapper. It’s not that they don’t have the skills or desire, it’s just that, well, they can’t rap in the same way others do. It’s a concept that’s related to our idea of perfectionism as thought about last week.

I’ve often found that part of our fear of failure isn’t just the desire to do things perfectly, but also to do things in a way that other people would deem right. On one level this is fine. I mean I couldn’t go onto a football pitch and pick up the ball and start running around with it and then when challenged just say, “well that’s just how I play the game”. But on another level, we risk just becoming imitators of life rather than people living it in an authentic way. Rather than being the best version of ourselves, we become a poor version of someone else.

Often in our desire to be on the same sheet as others (or playing field to return to my last metaphor!), we lose out on really enjoying ourselves and simply being in the moment. So, pushing a few boundaries and expectations is one of the ways in which we can grow not only our skills, but also our enjoyment of life. But, this does come with its own challenges:

Well it was ’82 when i joined the boys and i was hip, and i was cool, but now i’ve lost my poise. The kids, our fans, are starting to doubt when you open your mouth and nothing comes out.

We still need to be playing by some of the rules. Returning to my football example, we still can’t just do whatever we want and call it football, but we can play in a way which might not suit other’s expectations of what is success.

So, this week, why not try pushing the boundaries a little in an effort to become more authentically you, achieving your goals your way. Need to talk through the difference between rebellion and creativity? Why not consider booking an appointment with the author, Dr Dave Wood?

Author

dave@metanoeo.org.uk
Founder and Director of Metanoeo CIC and Metanoeo Coaching. Working with individuals, communities and business to co-create #wellbeing4all through life coaching, resources for living life well and training and supporting life coaches.