I made a mistake that could have ruined my week. See how I turned it around.
Designing a website.
This week, I spent most of my working time updating my website. As my services grew, and as I got clearer on how I want to help people, my website became increasingly out of date. Updating has been on my to-do list for a few months and, finally, this week, I really dug in to that work.
I'm fully on vacation next week and my intention for this week was to take it a bit easier in anticipation of being away, given how busy things have been lately. I envisioned doing some light work on my website in the mornings and then tackling various projects around the house in the afternoons. My plan was to make some progress on my website but not worry if I didn’t get it all done.
Of course, that was before I made a pretty big mistake (as far as websites go).
Until I became an entrepreneur, I had no idea how website design worked. You might not either so let me fill you in: If you have an already published website, like I do, and want to update it, you basically make those changes “behind the scenes”. So, anything you change on your website using whatever program you use doesn’t immediately affect what’s already on the web until you tell it to, by “publishing” it or making it “live”.
This is helpful because, if you are doing some major overhauls to your site – like I was this week – you want to make sure it’s all good before those changes are put out into cyberspace.
Unfinished business.
When making significant updates to my site, I make changes all over the place all at once. I go from page to page, section to section. This helps me ensure things are consistent, etc. So, the messy middle is, well, pretty messy. I have a partially done sentence here. An ugly half page there. Inconsistent fonts. Placeholder text. Obviously, I don’t want any of that to be published until it’s ready to be, right?
Welp. Unfortunately, with the platform I use, the “Save” button is a pale, small link in the top-right corner of the screen. And it’s right beside the giant blue “Publish” button.
I cannot tell you the number of times I almost clicked the “Publish” button instead of the “Save” button over the years.
Well, folks, this week I did. That's right. I published my “under construction” site. This means that my totally disorganized, full of broken links, hot mess of an unfinished website was out in the world for all to see.
Ugh.
My initial reaction was, “Oh shit! I can’t believe I did that!” Then I thought, “Okay. No big deal. I’ll just undo the publishing.” Oh ho ho. I quickly learned that, as it turns out, folks, you can’t friggen undo publishing. (Ridiculous, I know.)
Now, let’s be honest here, there are not droves of people flocking to my site on a daily basis… or ever. (If you’d like to flock, click here to check it out.) But I still want my site to look good and, perhaps more importantly, professional.
Shifting my perspective.
So, my initial reaction was to panic. I was frustrated. I was wondering how I could do something so stupid. I was annoyed that now I’d have to spend all week finishing my website as quickly as possible to minimize how much time that festering turd of a version was out there for. I was discouraged that my plans for an easy week were out the window.
But then I practiced what I preach and worked on applying compassionate confidence to the situation.
First, I let myself feel what I was feeling. (In other words, I let myself feel the panic, annoyance, frustration, discouragement.)
Then, I chose to move on. In other words, I worked on shifting my perspective. I thought, “Okay, well, there’s nothing I can do about it now. I don’t have time to spare and I don’t want to waste energy on being upset.”
So, I chose to view the situation differently. Specifically, I tried to see this as a positive. I realize that might seem like a stretch but consider this: As I said earlier, I’d been wanting to update my website for months. It was hanging over me and stressing me out. I wanted to get it done quickly but I have a tendency to nitpick at the formatting and it ends up taking me for freaking ever. This error I made in prematurely publishing my site meant that I had some pretty damn good motivation to get the sucker done QUICKLY.
Yes, I ended up working more this week than I wanted to but it’s not like I was pulling all-nighters… and now my site is done! I can go on vacation with this huge task mainly behind me! Yay!
Looking forward.
The next time you inevitably make a mistake like this, let yourself feel what you’re feeling but then choose to find a positive in it. It makes things a lot easier!
And, please, for the love of everything, go look at my website and, if you find any broken links or hideously formatted pages, let me know… but don’t expect to hear back from me for a couple of weeks. I’ll be on vacation, after all!
What about you? Have you ever made a mistake like this and managed to reframe it? Let me know!
With gratitude,
Stephanie
LORA Concepts Inc.
Helping corporate leaders and their people balance high achievement with well-being.
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This blog post was written in beautiful Waterdown Ontario, which is on the traditional territory of the Haudenosonee, the Anishnabek, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. I recognize that I am a settler here. I offer gratitude to those who have cared for and protected this land for generations. As I move forward, I commit to doing so with respect and in a spirit of reconciliation, honouring the relationships between the people, the land and the communities that continue to thrive here.
The information, insight, and advice I share through my work is meant to exist alongside whatever else you may be doing to bolster your mental health, manage stress, or improve your well-being. Nothing I share is meant to replace directives or treatment plans provided by your doctor, therapist, or other healthcare professional.