There’s a tendency, I think, in business, to expect that everything should go swimmingly if you’re successful. If things aren’t going so well – maybe your heart’s not in it for a while, or something’s changed and it’s time to take stock, then it’s real cause for alarm and to question whether business is really for you.
I know I’ve experienced that, especially because I have my own tendencies to compare myself too closely to other people. But – and we all know this, but sometimes need reminding – you don’t normally get behind the scenes and see what those other people truly have to go through.
Yesterday I was listening to a podcast (Simple and Season, which is about slow marketing) that had an interview with Instagram expert Sara from Me and Orla.
She talked about cherry trees, which really resonated with me because they’re just starting to blossom here and I’m patiently waiting for my own one to ‘spring’ into action (heh). For a couple of weeks a year they burst into glory, but it’s only for a couple of weeks. Then for the rest of the year they sit there being pleasantly leafy, or shedding, or looking a bit dead, but all of those times are necessary to get that stunning couple of weeks.
I guess the other analogy is the grain of sand in the oyster – pearls are beautiful, desirable, and quite miraculous things, but without that little grain of sand bugging the oyster they’d never exist.
We’re all human, and we go through seasons of smashing it and others of dull blandness in all areas of our lives, whether it be our work, our hobbies, or our relationships. So why would we expect it to be any different in business?
Maybe, then, the answer is to take those challenging times and look at them in the full context of our business. How can we grow through them, and what can we create when we get out the other side? Are they the natural end point to the peak blossom season – or are they the start of the journey to the next one?