Face into the Wind
In life, we are regularly faced with opportunities to do difficult things: things that take us outside of our bubble of familiarity, competence, or convenience.
If you are a person who likes change, it may be an opportunity to commit to a project that will take months or years of effort.
If you are an introvert, it may be an opportunity to speak at a conference.
If you are a habitual planner, it may be an opportunity to travel uncharted territory.
As a developer, I have tried several times to create my own product. I love the inception phase of a project, where all options are on the table, and you try to learn everything about the market. I also know that I can develop a product, once the design is mapped out. However, the space between these points is my Bermuda Triangle where promising-looking ideas vanish, never to be seen again. Somewhere in the process of maturing a concept into a spec and a business plan, projects would meet a disheartening dead end.
I have discovered through trial, error and observation that my own instincts lead me astray. Because some things are easy for me, I developed an expectation that work should generally feel easy.
No so! It is when the headwinds start that things are getting interesting. When it’s time to find an executive to pitch my B2B product to (shudder). When it’s time to get a slot during pitch hour at a local meet-up (blanch). When it’s time to sink significant dev time into a POC, knowing it will be discarded within a few months (sigh).
Unless you are already a driven person, you might need to consider how you respond to difficulty. If you find yourself perpetually blown back from reaching destinations you’ve envisioned, it’s time to change your instincts. The next time you have the stifling feeling that something is too big for you, get excited, because things are getting real. Run straight into the opportunity that intimidates you. No matter how it turns out, you will have grown in ways you couldn’t have predicted (or otherwise achieved).
When you feel the wind, turn into it. And grin.
