What If There Were No Plan A
Raise your hand if you ever get stuck ruminating on getting something perfect?
(I know I’m not the only one.)
Here’s a great way to leapfrog right out of that:
Assume there is no Plan A.
If you find you can’t move forward because you can’t “get it right,” ask yourself:
If the flashy, perfect way didn’t exist, what could I do instead?
Do that.
(This is a twist on the core belief that there’s always a creative solution.)
Here's how I found myself using this earlier this week:
My older daughter has a beautiful sign in her room that was made with painstaking love by my sister-in-law Jess.
(The photo does not do it justice.)
My younger daughter’s sign…does not exist. For three-and-a-half years, I have been trying to come up with what would be the right fit for her, and I have been stuck.
Finally, I had an idea, talked with her about it, and had a sketch inspired by Roy Lichtenstein's panels:
Still no action. To execute would take really careful woodcuts and a precise paint job, after finalizing the design.
Has not happened. Is not happening.
Yesterday, I told myself to set aside that vision and see what else was possible.
So I’m going to work with a graphic designer to execute on my vision and have a big pop-art style poster made instead.
Still awesome. Way more feasible. And I’m confident I’ll actually get it done by her birthday in May.
Sometimes we just need to get out of our own way and let the awesome show up a little differently.
You got this.