Sorry, you don’t control the outcome.
The Baltimore Ravens made a tremendous comeback drive against their rivals, the Pittsburg Steelers on Sunday.
The Raven’s scored with 12 seconds left. If they kick the extra point, they tie, and the game goes into overtime. If they go for two and make it, they win outright.
Jim Harbaugh goes for two and calls the perfect play, a quick slant to TE Mark Andrews. Unfortunately, the pass was thrown just a few inches wide, and they lost the game. (Watch it for yourself.)
How do you think Jim Harbaugh feels after that loss? Is he beating himself up? Second-guessing his decision?
“You saw the play,” Harbaugh said. “It’s a game of inches. That’s football. It’s just that close.”
Sometimes things don’t go your way.
Even if you make the right decision, you don’t always win the game, or get a signed deal, or get approval for the logo design, or…
The best you can do is have a process, a way to make decisions. Make the best decision you can using your process and then let go of your attachment to the outcome.
You’re going to be OK.
So the next time that dream project falls through, or your client decimates your logo concepts, or your favorite team member quits, think about Jim Harbaugh and say, “You saw it, that’s agency life…”
It’s not personal; it doesn’t mean you aren’t good at it; it doesn’t mean anything.
It’s not about you.
