No Hard Feelings

I recently submitted artwork for a competition to win a ticket to attend a premier lettering event. Lots of big names in the world of lettering would be in attendance and speaking.

There was no cost to enter and, since I’m already creating artwork every day, I figured I would just incorporate this phrase into a daily post.

The criteria for entering was lettering the phrase “Forever Bettering My Lettering,” post it on social media with certain hashtags and tagging, and include 1-2 paragraphs about why you love lettering and what it would mean if you won. You can see what I did here.

The day the winner was to be contacted came and went, so clearly I did not win. However, it didn’t really bother me and I want to share why.

In this season of putting myself out there, building an audience, and growing a business I have learned a few things that have made such a difference in how I walk through disappointments.

First, let me say that I was bummed I didn’t win. I was proud of the idea for the post and the execution.

In other seasons of life, I would have been devastated and this “no” would have caused me to question my ability as an artist and probably resulted in a few digs at myself in general. (Anyone else quick to jump in with the negative self-talk when you hit a bump in the road?)

This time around the bump was just a bump and nothing more. So what made the difference?

In Good Company

Read the bio of any successful person and most of them have a portion of their story that included times of failure. Twelve publishers passed on J.K. Rowling’s manuscript of Harry Potter. Abraham Lincoln had a steady stream of failure and defeat before becoming one of this country’s most renowned Presidents.

Obviously, there is nothing fun about walking through those times, but I honestly did think, “Great! Here is some of the rejection and disappointment I was promised!”

Don’t let something like this have a louder voice among everything else that you are doing. Instead, find some learning, if there is any to be found, and know that this will either be remembered as a low point in your story or, might I suggest, as time goes on, it might not even make the cut as a key plot point.

There’s Somewhere Else that I Need To Be.

When something is a “No” or we don’t get an opportunity we want, how about reframing it with expectant optimism while wondering what else may lie ahead of us.

I don’t mean this as a “I didn’t want to go to your stupid event anyway” kinda vibe, but more of a positive “Oh well, I guess there is something else that I’m suppose to be doing.”

If I am not at this event in the Fall, what does that allow space for that I can now invest into? What other opportunities can I find?

There is a possibility that my style isn’t a fit for that particular event. My current style is more stylized and whimsical; maybe it wouldn’t benefit me as much as someone who has a more traditional approach.

There are a number of projects that I am working on and this was just one of many, which also had an impact of how I saw this. When you are not putting all of your eggs in one basket, it helps to keep a more balanced perspective about any single option

In some ways it feels like tossing out seed in a field and waiting to see what will take root.

Thinking about it in that way, you don’t get an image of a person carefully counting out seeds and then verifying that each seed bore fruit. It’s more of a generous sharing of an abundance of seeds and trusting that some will result in growth.

Set a Future Goal

When we hear “No” to something we tried for, it is gut check time to determine whether it’s something that we truly want. In the case of this lettering event, I first became aware of it because of this contest, so it’s not like it was some long-time dream of mine.

However, now that I know about it, I can decide if it is something that I want to work toward in the future.

By the end of the day, when it was clear that it wasn’t going to happen, I had sat with all these thoughts and was ready to move on to the next task.

I don’t expect that all disappointments will have this same outcome, but the fact that it was possible this time seemed like it was worth marking the moment and sharing those observations.

Does any of that resonate with you? Or do you have any more to add about navigating a “No”?