Swear word alert!

First a swear word alert! (apologies if you are offended by those kinds of words)
I am one of those people that struggle to remember acronyms or mnemonics... I am timid to say I avoid giving them to new drivers.That is probably because I struggle so much with them; though I am sadly conscious of the fact that I might hamper their progress because of my preference.The reason for my post is twofold (I can't believe I used an antiquated term like 'twofold'!! - must be an age thing!)
1 - Because I (and the driver I write about) hate mnemonics and acronyms [eg MSPSL, IPSGA MSM etc] because we can't remember what the letters stand for though know the principles involved!
2 - Because we used an acronym and had such a ball with it for the past two sessions! So, M (my New Driver) and I are allergic to words, acronyms, IQ, mnemonics and using clever words etc. I pretend to myself that I am being 'client centred' by mirroring and matching the language patterns that M uses... it is true, though, that it has helped us with rapport over the weeks!

Last session, I noticed once again how M has a 'pattern' that hinders him. I strive to help people to conquer their 'barriers' to learning - and this barrier has been a little more of a challenge than most! M will be extremely conscious of what he views as 'mistakes' or 'faults'; and I am happy to report that I can sometimes prevent the distracting obsessiveness that creeps in afterwards. But often not - especially now that he is in that awkward 'Conscious Incompetence' phase of driving where he knows what he 'wants' to do; and knows that he didn't achieve it! He tends to berate himself and uses swear words to put himself down.
So I asked him to pull up. I did not ask him to recall his drive - I asked for the solution.. as is often the case, he reverted quickly to fault finding. I hate to admit to how easy it is to slip back into that - so I will gloss over my thoughts on this [or am I 'fault finding' of myself?] To quit the lengthy explanation and cut to the chase - I asked him to use a swear word as a mnemonic or acronym to devise HIS plan on approach to roundabouts! The swear word was "Sh*t" It stood for: Steady Handling Improves Thinking.
It is HIS, it made no sense to me, so I took a photo of it and we drove off to act on his plan. We had an absolute ball, what a laugh! It TOTALLY changed the dark place he goes to, into a fun filled joy fest. The mnemonic worked a treat mostly because we could both be so childish about it.
The phrases were similar to:"I am going to make this roundabout proper Sh*t.... I Sh*t that one right up....Remember you're Sh*t.... They didn't have their Sh*t together did they?....That was even Sh*tier than the last one!....
It was a very bubbly M that left his session and it was the principle not the mnemonic that worked... I can prove that because the next session highlighted similar issues with other junction types and meeting situations. I remembered the fun and laughter that changed the outcome of his session last time. I remembered the Sh*t mnemonic......... but what the heck did it stand for? ... I asked M and he couldn't remember either!
As usual we had the 'word' but what the letters stood for? No idea! Luckily I had my photo so we had a look at it and we were pleasantly surprised at how good M had made it! ... and then laughed at how Sh*t we are at remembering Sh*t! So we re-used the idea to develop meeting situations and that quirky right turn... M also linked in how it is the same thing for any potential 'new' issue that might throw him in future e.g. if he is confused by a junction or what is happening on the road ahead!
It amuses me that we used something that neither of us like to a great benefit... and we didn't even remember what it was though the longer term effects are still so evident!
Learning can be fun too!
#LearningComesFromWithin

Thank you for this enlightening blog written by Fiona Taylor ADI