I’ve made mistakes in my writer’s life, and I learned to bounce back from them.
That’s something I’d like to show you today, so you can become stronger in your B2B writer’s journey.
Making mistakes is something we all try to avoid. And most of us fear.
And I understand. Especially when it comes to matters as important as our writer’s life.
Making mistakes in prospecting… mistakes in communicating with clients… potentially coming off as unprofessional, making the client doubt our competence.
It’s only normal to fear making mistakes.
But “fear of mistakes” can stop you from taking steps that will help you move forward on your B2B writer’s journey.
And in fact, you simply won’t grow. Because growing means doing things you’ve never done before.
And therefore, signing up for mistakes along the way.
So I figured out that the best thing is to develop a “thick-enough-skin.” When you do that, you can keep going when you make those mistakes.
If you’ve ever made mistakes in your B2B writer’s life and it’s begun to slow you down and make you freeze… you’re losing momentum… losing energy and drive… or you’re afraid of making mistakes…
Read on.
You will no longer be afraid of making mistakes in your B2B writer’s journey.
And if you ever make any more mistakes — which you will certainly do — you will be able to bounce back… with a higher level of resistance and energy… and do better from that point of mistake.
Don’t sink-in at first
It’s only natural to start sinking into self-pity when you make mistakes. However, to bounce-back, you have to start winning from that point.
So, how exactly?
Recognize that making mistakes is proof that you’re making progress and learning something new.
If you’re just starting out or you’ve had a lot of experience, you will agree with me that “you’re currently a work-in-progress and will always be a work-in-progress.”
Right?
As someone who has big dreams for your writer’s life, and has a successful future in front… when you take steps forward towards that future and dream… whether or not your step landed perfectly… you should celebrate yourself.
Recognize your mistake as a step you successfully took forward, which just didn’t land perfectly.
Recognizing it as an “imperfect success” will help you not to sink-in.
Learn why you made that mistake
That mistake happened because you had a certain view concerning a certain issue… or you handled a certain important matter in a way you shouldn’t have… or you responded to something in a way you shouldn’t have.
That forms your “why” behind the mistake you made.
Recognize and mark it. Then decide what to do next time, if a situation like that comes up again.
Let’s say for example, you didn’t respond to a client who finally responded to you, after a long time of prospecting… because you got too busy with other things, thinking “I’ll respond to this client later”… and the stipulated time frame for you to respond, expires…
If you sit down to unearth “WHY” you made that mistake, it could be that —
- You got lax, and you allowed everyday distractions to derail your normal follow-up processes.
- Your dedication to your work probably isn’t complete.
- You don’t really believe you deserve the success that comes with landing a new client.
- You got frustrated with the prospective client’s delay in responding to you, because you’re not aware of how complex and long the B2B prospecting process could be.
Once you can unearth what caused your action or inaction that resulted in that mistake, you’ll be better able to handle it, or a similar situation like that, next time.
Learn where you made that mistake
Trace the particular point from where things began to run off the road. After you’ve identified specifically why you made that mistake, recognize the exact spot where that mistake happened, and create an action plan of what to do — better things to do — when you get to that position again.
Knowing this will help you know exactly where to implement the needed changes.
Sit down and follow the line of events where that mistake happened.
Determine the exact point you did what you shouldn’t have done or did not do what you should have.
At this point, it is important to be honest with yourself.
It takes courage and some bit of maturity, and you may want to shy away from it. But it’s very necessary.
Go out there to make BETTER mistakes next time
Now, I mentioned that as a new or experienced B2B writer, you are and will always be a “work-in-progress.” Right?
So you will always make mistakes from time to time. Prepare yourself for that.
But the good news is, you can choose to handle that mistake with a better attitude, and bounce-back stronger than you could have done before.
And what’s more, you can revisit the same routes you traveled once, and make smarter choices than you did before. Take better actions than you did before.
And as you make new mistakes, you can use this tactic to conquer them, and bounce-back better.
If you fear making mistakes, then you fear trying new things. And that will stunt your growth and probably your business. Doing new things is required for you to grow. And yes, sometimes you’ll fail when you try something new.
Good, just get back up, figure out what happened, and try again.
Round-up
Making mistakes in your B2B writer’s journey can feel odd and scary.
But recognize that this is a necessary part of your growth.
Understand why you made that mistake and pinpoint where you missed it. Then go out there and make it better.
Do you have any questions or comments on today’s discussion? Feel free to comment below.
