Any good story has high points and low points. Think about your favorite books, the ones that have conflict and drama are the ones you keep reading because you want to see how the characters navigate those challenges.
The same can be said of the journey in building your own brand or business. There will be days when it appears as though the planets align and all things fall into place. However, there will also be days when regardless of the work that was done, things just don’t go your way.
This past week had one of those low moments and, in the interest of documenting the journey, I wanted to talk about walking through disappointments when you are trying to build something.
On a cognitive level, I understand that I will experience doors being closed or hear the word “no” periodically. In the abstract, I know I’m going to encounter disappointments as I’m trying to build this brand. However, knowing that dips will happen doesn’t mean it doesn’t still sting when we come face-to-face with those hard moments.
This gist of it was that I put together a proposal for a project, but ultimately the client decided to go a different direction. Of course not getting a project is something that I have experienced many times over the years with the design work that I do. However, it always has an extra punch when the project seems a perfect fit for your skill set.
When it comes to rejection, acknowledge what happened, access if there is a learning that you can take away, and then move on.
For me personally, when that happens I need to allow a little space to feel sad before I can move on. However, I have seen how it isn’t helpful to linger in that bummed energy too long. It’s the difference between visiting somewhere versus setting up camp.
After I have given space to let myself feel whatever it is I’m feeling, then I look back at my part of the situation to see if there was something that I missed or could have done better. Right now, I feel like there is so much that I am learning that it doesn’t take long to find things that I can adjust and do different next time.
Don’t beat yourself up over those things. It’s all just learnings to help you get where you want to go.
Ultimately, I get myself to a space of seeing that maybe it was a good thing how everything turned out. Possibly, the job wasn’t really what I thought it was. Ultimately, this bump caused me to stop and review things that I wouldn’t have looked at otherwise; which is a good thing.
Pain is a much more effective teacher than comfort.
While I wish it wasn’t the case, the unfortunate truth is I am more open to doing the work to change something when I experience pain. So I take the disappointment, sift through it to see if there are any gems worth keeping, make necessary adjustments, and move on.
Of course, in light of creating daily artwork I did make a post to reflect what had happened that day.
So don’t let those low moments take you down. They will happen and the truth is they happen to everyone who is doing the work of trying to build something new. Take it in stride and know that it is only the end of your story if you stop there.
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