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Tag: nature

Jan12010

A Comforting Sign Along The Way

1-way-pathWouldn’t it be nice to have the path (read “career path”) laid out in front of you, and a sign such as this one, in the photo, assuring you that you are going the right way!

I think freelance life rarely sees this clarity. Freelance life is choosing the non-path – in this case striking a new path – your own path – in the woods. Yes, it’s hard and scary and lonely to leave the groomed trail – the one that others have prepared before you. With freelance life, you are cutting your own trail. You can visit the groomed path now and then, but you do not have to stay there. Making your own way you will find yourself blessed with living close to your career dreams. And that is as lovely a place to be as it is scary.

Hmmm, I wonder… if you had such a path and sign as this, would you actually choose to follow it?

Best wishes for the new year to you, whatever path you choose!

Cheers,
Deb

Dec112009

Conquering Perfectionism… by Listening to the J-Tree

J-TreeThe film industry strives for excellence, but it’s a very small step to start striving for perfectionism instead. We want every word in the script, every frame in the camera to be perfect.

Remember, however, that perfectionism is unachieveable – at least if you want to achieve it all the time. Striving for the impossible can leave you forever disappointed in yourself and others. In extreme cases, you may never complete a task because the outcome will never be good enough for you. At the end of the day, you will be very weary.

To conquer perfectionism, I found the answer in Nature. A walk in the forest and you’ll see all kinds of organized chaos. Trees seems to grow haphazardly; some grow right on top of fallen ones, ignoring the rich soil beside. Trees grow crookedly – like this “J-tree” here in the photo. And yet, it works. It’s beautiful. It’s excellence. It’s as close to perfection as it needs to be. It’s real.

So, you don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be real. For those who understand the weight of striving for perfectionism… what a relief, eh?

Cheers,
Deb