You bet, I made a mistake the first time around, and the second, and the third. I found it a bit ironic considering these words of wisdom from Betty White, when she was asked what was the most important thing she had learned:
Professionalism is not about you, it’s about everyone. Don’t take yourself too seriously…
So instead of starting over I decided to cross out my mistakes and keep moving forward. I had to stop taking myself so seriously and laugh at my mistakes, even give you a little peek into the process behind the scenes. So yes, mistakes are made – and made often. It isn’t about giving up, it is about doing it better next time. As a calligrapher SPELLING is a big deal. People may love your work yet a spelling error can kill your mojo faster than slow drying ink! And yes, I do make spelling errors and have sheets of misspelled words to show for it! (I keep them and use them as scraps later!)
We all have a level at which we want to present our work. There are standards to maintain and excellence to project. We are professional after all. And yet, none of us is perfect. None of us is (or should be) above laughing at ourselves. When we let off steam we can gain perspective AND appreciate how far we have come in our journey. Letting people know we are NOT perfect, we DO make mistakes AND we can laugh along with them at our dumb moves…that makes us human and relatable! And how good it can feel to laugh right out loud about our nincompoop foibles.
Don’t take yourself too seriously…seriously! FANTASTIC advice from Betty White! Give it a rest and take a deep breath. It will all work out in the end. And as mistakes are made, at least you got a good laugh out of it…and probably a wonderful story to share later!
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