In 2018…PUSH THE BUTTON!
Yesterday, I received the official proof of my new book, Get Past the Crap: Lead your self first, bounce back and Get SHI*T Done! I can’t tell you how excited I was to open the package and see all of this hard work come together and finally be wrapped up into a beautiful, completed, package. I honestly know how Dr. Frankenstein felt when he saw his creation’s fingers move and yelled, “IT’S ALIVE…ALIVE!!”
I’m sure you know that same feeling. When you put so much of yourself into something and then get to see it through to completion. It is exhilarating!
But, even so, as I looked at the “approve proof” button on the screen of my computer so I could get “my baby” out to the world, there was a moment of hesitation. Questions swirled around in my head…
Did i miss something?
Did I catch every typo?
Should I rework this section?
Will it be received well?
It reminded me of how many other times in my life that I’ve been faced with “pushing the button” and making a decision that needed to be made.
How about you? Have you faced the same? You know that something needs to be done, a decision needs to be made and, yet, the hesitation remains? Maybe you’re waiting for the next email to come, or wondering what might change tomorrow, or for that next big piece of information that might never show?
When I face that kind of self defeating crap, I ask myself three questions to push through it so I can move forward.
First, have I done my due diligence? More simply, did I put in the work? With this book, I could irrefutably say yes. I had been working for months on it, revising it, researching the topic and being consumed by creating a product that would help others. We know if we’ve honestly done the work (or not) but the lies we tell ourselves are the easiest to tell (and the easiest to believe). Be honest with yourself on the work you’ve done and, if needed, do some more.
Second, did I consult my team? All of us are smarter than any one of us. With this project, I did have a team. A team of people that gave me feedback, went through and helped me see things I may have forgotten, and (most importantly) helped me with editing (I suck at looking at my own work). When we’re intimately involved with a project, we need other eyes to help us see the things that we may be blind to. Ask your team to shore up your blind areas and BE OPEN to their feedback.
Lastly, how do I feel? Ultimately, when it’s my decision to make I have to feel good about what I’m about to do. Making decisions have an element of the unknown and can be scary. Fear is good. It means you’re doing something different (and that’s how we grow). Fear is not the feeling I worry about. I have to answer, “in the pit of my stomach, do I feel good about what about this decision?” This feel good feeling only happens for me when I’ve honestly done the first two steps. If I don’t feel good, chances are I need to go back. Push past the fear.
Ultimately, I could answer YES to the first two questions and felt great about what I was going to do so I PUSHED THE DAMN BUTTON!
What do you need to push the button on? Remember, perfection can sometimes be the enemy of production. If you’ve done the work, consulted the team and feel good about what needs to be done, then do it! Push that button and move forward…today, tomorrow and in the New Year!
