Give it a go

Okay, I confess... I stuffed up. That being said, I stand by this advice: Give it a go. I encourage you to take action and try. What's the worst that can happen? Well, let me tell you.

One of the cartoons I created for Bannockburn News

I create cartoons for our local quarterly news publication. Over the weekend, I was telling a friend about it and they asked whether I had approached another much larger local news publication to see if they were interested in using my cartoons. I paused for a moment. I hadn't. All the reasons why I shouldn't ran through my head: My cartoons are amateurish, the programs I use are not professional so they are poor quality, I'm not that funny. As if they'd want me. Then, my friend said this: "The worst that can happen is they say 'no'."

"That's true," I replied. Then we moved on.

That conversation replayed in my head over the next 24 hours until I decided to do just what he suggested. Fire lit, I set off... and made 2 huge mistakes:

1. In my haste and desire to make a good impression, I used AI to help me draft a professional email to the editor. I made a lot of changes, and I didn't proofread well.

2. In my desire to act as quickly as I could, I did not produce the best quality work that I could possibly produce.

The email that I sent contained the Americanised spelling of the word humour ('humor'), and the sample cartoon I created contained a capital letter that should have been lowercase. I also made the proportions of the illustration wrong, cropped some out and enlarged the rest, which made it more pixelated. I knew that. I sent it anyway.

If I get eaten by sharks, it must be God's will.

Okay, so the worst thing that can happen is not that someone says 'no.'

The worst thing that can happen is that you make yourself look bad.

I am angry at myself. I've tried arguing that this is 'God's will' (A Christian's way of attempting to let go of the bad feelings), but I know that it was not God who made these mistakes, but me. I stuffed up. I've tried to convince myself that there is enough quality in the links I sent to the rest of my work that the editor should be able to overlook these 'minor' mistakes in my direct approach to her. But these minor mistakes are in the worst possible places.

Bah humbug.

So, why is this blog post titled, 'Give it a go'? Let me tell you.

Because I'm still glad that I took action.

I attempted to move forward.

I have learned from my mistakes.

And, doing something is better than doing nothing.

I will never get any other opportunities if I don't take risks and put myself out there - This is where my advice to you comes from. Most of us have some sort of Imposter Syndrome that holds us back from doing things: I can't play well enough, I don't have enough experience, there's other people out there who are way better than me, I've never done it before, someone might laugh at me (which could be a good thing in my case lol), I might fail and look stupid.

SO WHAT?

Will a negative result continue to have a negative impact on me in a week? A year? Two years? Will this editor, having received an email containing the incorrect spelling of the word 'humour' (twice in the same email, I might add), still be an issue for me in five years?

The chances are slim to none. If so, it's a painful lesson to learn, but I can still succeed in other ways.

This was my laptop background for a good year or so:

Like it? You can download your free wallpaper HERE. Thanks www.LeonieDawson.com

'It is better to be imperfect than unfinished.' I try to live this statement.

Doing something, even doing it poorly, is better than doing nothing.

Now, I feel like as a child, I was actually taught the opposite. More like: 'If you can't do something properly, then don't do it at all'. Well, I'm going to pooey all over that one. I could have taken more time to get my email and cartoon better, but really, I am happier to have taken action than to have done nothing, and the things you learn from your failures often end up teaching you much more than your successes.

My lesson: Slow down. Do it, but take my time to do it well. Complete the task, then take a break or go for a walk before I send/submit or commit to the final action, then check it all again. Doing is good, but doing fast is dangerous.

So, here's my encouragement to you: Give it a go. Just be sure to proofread well.

What's the worst that could happen?

Happy days.

Much love,

Marley x