Could do better

Mind-reading is a complex business. No, really. Sometimes there’s too much interference going on to be able to see clearly inside someone else’s head and read their thoughts... 

One of the things I find tricky - especially in a professional environment - is doing work for someone who has a fixed vision of the outcome. It can be demoralising to put effort into something and then to be sent away to do it again, and difficult to be patient with requests for changes that seem insignificant or contradictory. I often reach the point of thinking, why don’t they just do it themselves? 

It can be hard to please perfectionists. It can be hard to please a group of people with varying opinions (as a book-cover-designer friend of mine will testify!). It can be hard to please people who are never really sure of what they think in the first place.

Yet I know on the inside that the root cause of my upset is really my own pride and selfishness. I want my tasks to be easy, and my efforts to be praised. It’s hard taking correction and admitting error or weakness. It’s not that I’m a better person - I’m sure I would be the same in their position (and quite possibly worse; relinquishing control and delegating is not easy!). 

But wouldn’t it be great if we could use this kind of situation for good, instead of for fuelling our own resentment and negativity? Each instance of correction is an opportunity to serve. And serve again. To be patient and understanding, and to work hard to get it right. To accept someone else’s suggestions, and to learn for next time. To produce the second (or third, or fourth, or fiftieth) attempt with a smile. It’s not all about me.