The High Value of Lowering Your Freelance Bar

Make yourself right, right now, and build from there

Photo by Frame Kings on Unsplash.

“You may not be perfect, but that doesn’t make you flawed.”

— Nicole Kylie

Let’s start there. You’re not perfect, you’re not flawed.

Also, your freelance or solo business isn’t perfect, but it’s not necessarily flawed either. It’s a snapshot of where you are right now. And it’s the only place you can work from right now (or ever).

It’s very hard to work effectively from a mindset of wrong, failing, struggling, not measuring up, falling behind, should be doing better. One counterintuitive, high-value trick when you’re not feeling right is to simply lower the bar. Adjust the lever of your expectations downwards to a point where you’ve cleared that bar. From that perspective — of being right, right now — you can proceed from a place of…

• success — this is what I’ve accomplished and done well;
• confidence — this is what I’m capable of and more;
• empowerment — this motivates me to take the next steps forward;
• reality — this is what’s next and I’m ready for it.

It’s not magic. It’s just a shift in perspective that supports action over rumination. Feeling…