A couple of weeks back I talked about how reframing your day in some way can help you bring a fresh perspective to your work.
That post was about giving yourself a nudge to get out of the rut of your daily routine.
Today’s message is related, but not the same.
This is about finding a place and time to think about the bigger issues. It’s about addressing and answering questions like:
We all of us suffer from self-doubt from time to time. We have good days and not so good days. Days when we think we can conquer the universe, and days when we feel we’re not even worthy to get paid for the work we do.
Welcome to the life of a freelancer!
Hopefully you have more up days than down days.
For when you do have the occasional down day, here is something I do to snap myself out of it.
I think back to some work I did that was really good. Maybe it performed incredibly well. Maybe I was just particularly proud of what I created. Either way…
In my first Monday Spark post, a few weeks ago, I showed a video of Jeb Corliss jumping off a cliff.
That video inspired me to make some changes to a presentation I gave several weeks ago at the AWAI Bootcamp at Delray Beach in Florida.
I showed the video and, since then, I have seen a few mentions on Facebook and on blogs of what I described in my presentation as the “2:57 moment”.
So I thought I had better explain what that’s all about.
First off, here is that video again. Watch it now, and pause it at 2 minutes and 57 seconds.
The feeling of awe is a powerful thing. We can feel it when watching a gymnast performing some incredible feat, or at the birth of a child, or in nature.
That moment of awe has a profound effect on us. It’s a little like a reset button, allowing us to view everything afresh. All the jumbled up worries and thoughts in our minds are swept away.
For myself – perhaps because I don’t have easy access to gymnasts, and have just the right number of children already – I find awe in nature.
This isn’t my video, but I bet if I had been in that canoe, I would have felt a profound sense of awe. Even watching the video, I feel a sense of quiet amazement, and peace.
Take a moment, and enjoy.
Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.
NOTE: If you want help in moving your business forward, or launching it, check out my coaching service for freelancers.
About the author: Nick Usborne is an online writer, copywriter, author and coach. Read more…
Beginning today, I’ll be publishing a Monday Spark each week.
The idea is to wake you up, inspire you, get you revved up, and give you a little spark to start the week.
Why? Because freelancing can be a great way to live and work, but it can also be a challenge.
Yes, we are free and independent. We don’t have to go to the office or listen to a boss. As freelancers, our lives are our own, to do with as we wish.
But we are also alone, and it isn’t always easy to start the week fully motivated.
We are in free flight, without a parachute, flying low to the ground, and trying to stay aloft and achieve our dreams…but sometimes we need a little push, a little inspiration.
Which brings me to this morning’s spark…some free flight, literally… courtesy of the remarkable Jeb Corliss.