The Little Things
I’m quite liking this topic because of the little things. For me, I’m finding my best self in the little things, and those little things are really adding up fast. It feels good to do those things of course, but it feels even better to be able to start to see them connect to the big picture confidence I require to move the blog projects forward. I definitely don’t feel confident yet at all, but I’m noticing really quickly how giving my absolute best moment to moment creates reliable momentum to continue doing and giving my best. It feels good, and I have noticed I start to look for the next place I can do my best.
I feel like I’m cheating on this one because it happened to land when I am also doing a painting job. That’s one of the ways I am very easily my best. I get so much feedback about that, and almost every job I go to, the homeowner will comment on that. It’s like being informed of my reputation almost every day. Some business owners never hear that, but I have had the advantage over the years to have had my “circle of influence” be people who know each other. Now that is happening again, as this kind of business grows via word of mouth. I noticed I was cutting an odd angle today, and I was worried I would get the wall paint all over the ceiling I had just painted yesterday. I suddenly heard a few compliments from previous customers run through my head, and then just as suddenly, I had the confidence to squish the brush in exactly the right way, and then zip it along quickly. That’s the key – move the brush along the cut line quickly. You can’t paint a straight line if you pause to worry if you are going to make a mistake!
Doing my best job over the years has left me with my own well of self-confidence. Looking at all those little angles, perfectly painted, is like having my own personal cheering section. I’m noticing that I am also at my social best when I have a painting job on the go. Blog work gets shuttled to the evening, and I must be timely with my daily deliverables. It seems counter intuitive, but on these weeks when I am this busy I run out of time and energy to worry about doing a good job. I notice that my professional conversations begin to be more concise and successful. It even feels like the home owner is more confident in me. This is a touchy feely thing to describe, but there are fewer notes and phone calls that happen on the job.
Also hard to describe, but my paint kit feels more organised than it ever has. I swear it packs up smaller and more neatly after every job. It should be the opposite. This translates into a tidier trunk, which then translates into a tidier garage where I keep my kit between jobs. When I am working at home and I walk through the garage to water my garden, I see it there and again, it gives me a hit of confidence. Silly, but it makes me feel invincible!
When I go back into the house after my “garden break” (the adult version of a smoke break!) all these little things, these little examples of me doing my best are lining my bones and springing out of my fingers into the keyboard. That’s really where I do my absolute best.
