No Limits | The Freedom Coach
What is Your CTF (Claim To Fame)?
Written by Steven Griggs | thefreedomcoach.com
Meeting new people is interesting. Most people have no problem talking about themselves. Usually it is a way of breaking the ice, trying to get to some place of commonality, and a way of checking you out and making sure you are a conforming member of the tribe. They are deciding if you “fit in” and sometimes you won’t be able to get a word in edge ways.
They will drone on endlessly about their job, their trip, their kids or grandkids, their new car, some extremely yawnsome “stuff” that they think is as fascinating for you to hear as it is for them to tell.
But have you ever noticed that somewhere in the conversation they find a way to slip in one or two things that they think makes them special or that makes them stand out in some way or that connects them with something or someone special?
If you pay attention you’ll see people doing it all the time. They can’t stand any uncomfortable silence in the conversation. So so rather than listen to what you have to say, they feel the need to mention that they recently spent the week at their friend’s fabulous condo in Hawaii, right on the water, “it’s where Jennifer Aniston and her friends all go…”
Or “Our friends have a yacht anchored off Martinique…., you know, where Mick Jagger has a place….”
Their CTF’s are presented in all kinds of ways…..
I have also noticed another example of a kind of CTF, especially in older people, but this one is actually more of a Replayed CTF, the repeating of older experiences that they’ve had in their lives. Sometimes the stories seem to get burned onto an endless loop and they start repeating themselves …..
This I think is natural as these people are no longer out in the world creating new experiences and adventures. Their world has become smaller and a bit boring. Their day now revolves around aches and pains, doctors, obituaries, medicine and food.
This isn't really all their fault. They don’t have the desire, energy, health or flexibility anymore. It’s not that they've given up, it’s that they've been overtaken by age and all their issues and there they are.
So next time you meet someone, watch them and listen, but more importantly watch yourself. Are you standing there spinning out your CTFs? If you are, you need to look at yourself. What are you doing to deepen your personality? Are you reading enough? Are you taking classes on your areas of interest? Are you travelling? Writing? Painting? Creating?
If you don’t have some breadth and depth in you and a real interest in other people, you might find yourself creeping into displaying some of your CTF’s.
Don’t become a CTF’er.
