How I found peace in perfectionism.
One of the biggest challenges I faced when I took the leap into becoming a business-owner was knowing that there was no middle-man between my work and the people who are paying good money for it.
Id spend hours editing and re-writing something once Id finished it to make sure that the client was receiving something that was, in my eyes, perfect. Spelling and punctuation, grammar, creativity, sentence structureit was all on my shoulders, and that was a big weight.
Id feel so sick and nervous before sending something and Id often let their first phone call go to voicemail until I knew whether they were happy with the work, just so I could prepare myself for the conversation if they didnt like it!
I felt like the girl in this pic getting beaten by a giant pencil!
From very early on I knew that wouldnt work, and that I was going to have to toughen up and not be so afraid of peoples opinions if I was to do well at this.
But that was something that I couldnt quite manage.
Sure, Ive learnt that if someone doesnt like something Ive written it doesnt mean I cant write, it doesnt mean Im on the wrong path doing this for a living, and I generally dont shed tears at bad feedback anymore! It just means we have different opinions on how we want the copy to look and the next step is working together to get it just right.
But to this day, I STILL feel worried before I press send. I STILL wait anxiously for the first phone call to hear their feedback, but rather than seeing that as a negative, Ive flipped it on its head and learnt to take it as a good thing.
Deliver a product that physically makes me nervous that the client will like it?
I think, as far as customer service goes, thats OK.
And in that realisation; I've found peace, not perfection.
Id spend hours editing and re-writing something once Id finished it to make sure that the client was receiving something that was, in my eyes, perfect. Spelling and punctuation, grammar, creativity, sentence structureit was all on my shoulders, and that was a big weight.
Id feel so sick and nervous before sending something and Id often let their first phone call go to voicemail until I knew whether they were happy with the work, just so I could prepare myself for the conversation if they didnt like it!
I felt like the girl in this pic getting beaten by a giant pencil!
From very early on I knew that wouldnt work, and that I was going to have to toughen up and not be so afraid of peoples opinions if I was to do well at this.
But that was something that I couldnt quite manage.
Sure, Ive learnt that if someone doesnt like something Ive written it doesnt mean I cant write, it doesnt mean Im on the wrong path doing this for a living, and I generally dont shed tears at bad feedback anymore! It just means we have different opinions on how we want the copy to look and the next step is working together to get it just right.
But to this day, I STILL feel worried before I press send. I STILL wait anxiously for the first phone call to hear their feedback, but rather than seeing that as a negative, Ive flipped it on its head and learnt to take it as a good thing.
Deliver a product that physically makes me nervous that the client will like it?
I think, as far as customer service goes, thats OK.
And in that realisation; I've found peace, not perfection.
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adamcurran -
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