The Notion of Familiarity

Hi,

How is Tuesday treating you so far? It is Tuesday, right? *checks calendar* It is!

Join us tonight for the Zumba and Fitness-a-thon from 5:30pm to 7:00pm and help us send a child to camp this summer! 

So I was just thinking about a few things while working on some stuff, and it got me thinking. Familiarity brings about many positive associations. When you are familiar with something or someone you are more willingly to interact with it or them respectively. This may correlate to why many people dislike doing cold calls, starting something new, building relationships with new people, etc. Even though there is not a sense of familiarity here, we still try to look for something familiar in the newness. It may be a communication technique most comfortable to use, relating back to an activity you preferred in the past, or finding common interests amongst each other.

Why am I discussing familiarity? Well, because I have just noticed my transition here; from being in new a environment to becoming part of this environment. When I first started, it felt like an overload of information and that I would never understand any of it. I could not even remember names of people, let alone what position they held. Then when I was given an assignment to complete where I had to interact with people, I had thought I would just die - figuratively speaking. LOL!

I knew of what the YMCA of Northern British Columbia was because of the research I had done on it. However, I did not really know what it was till now, and even now I am still learning. There was so much information to take in, and it was unfamiliar ground. I did not enjoy the feeling that comes with the feeling of the unknown.

Now look at me. I understand the structure of the organization to a comfortable extent, and actually know the names of almost everyone! I transitioned from the unknown to the known in a span of almost two months. The feeling that I am walking on unfamiliar ground has become a walking ground that seems a natural part of life now. Familiarity has set in, and this makes me realize (yet again) that when you start something new it eventually does become familiar to you over time.

In psychology, the idea of familiarity is called the familiarity principle and the repeated exposure to a stimulus is called the perceptual fluency. This perceptual fluency in turn makes way for positive associations. My perceptual fluency at the Y has been the people, the various programs, and in general the atmosphere that has given way to my positive association.

I am a person who does not like a sudden change in life. But the thing is that even sudden changes become a part of your life. It is not a bad thing to try something new; you never know what you have been missing out on till you try it!

So go out and try a new fitness program, a new food, a new activity! Haven't tried Zumba, TRX, Step, etc? Go and try them out and become familiar with them. Haha!

I am a great example of this idea of familiarity. I applied for this position after the 4th or 5th time of coming across it; thinking I do not have the skill sets for something digitally related. But here I am, and actually qualified for this position!

Go become familiar!
Simmi