Autistic and me

Around 10 weeks ago I opened a Community Interest Company called Yestem Project. Yestem comes from the Polish word “jestem”, which means “I am” (in Polish, “j” is pronounced like “y”). I came up with the name after a painful realisation that all the more straightforward names were already taken.

The focus of Yestem Project is to provide tools and information for creatives who want to try digital art, including donating refurbished iPads.

I was working on the website, but everything was moving very slowly. Around two weeks ago I started thinking that I might be approaching it from the wrong angle — from a place of worry: “What if it doesn’t work out?” But the only framework I knew at the time that offered a different perspective was… manifestation.

A lot of successful people claim that manifestation worked for them, and focusing on positive goals does make sense. However, the claim that manifestation has its roots in quantum physics? Seriously? I studied physics at university level and there was nothing like that there.

Eventually I found something that made much more sense: Regulatory Focus Theory, a psychological framework developed by Professor Edward Tory Higgins. It describes two different approaches to achieving goals: promotion focus and prevention focus.

Promotion-focused individuals are driven by achievement, growth, and maximizing positive outcomes, whereas prevention-focused individuals are driven by security, responsibility, and minimizing losses.

And apparently, promotion focus is much better when we want to launch projects, innovate, or seize opportunities.

Looking back at my own life, I realised that almost everything I achieved — except for travel — I achieved because I was worried.

When I first came to the UK, my English was very basic, and it also quickly turned out that I didn’t really have a talent for languages. But I worried that people might see me as unintelligent or lazy, so I pushed myself to study, and over time it improved a lot.

I bought a flat because I was worried I would end up renting forever. I moved to Swindon because in Reading property prices were so high that I could only afford a studio, and I was worried that living in such a small space would drain me.*

And then it hit me: if you take the woo-woo out of manifestation, it’s pretty much a promotion-focused approach. So maybe that’s why “manifestation” works so well for some people that even Oprah recommends it?

So now I’m applying a promotion focus to Yestem Project. I even made a vision board!

*I bought two bedroom flat instead of one bedroom I had originally planned to buy because a good opportunity came up. I also started organising the move before my job transfer had been confirmed, so there was a bit of promotion focus involved as well. However the whole process was initially triggered by worry.