I have zero patience. For anything. Especially when things don't work. Or did work, then stop working — that's the worst.

I'd had a day of just stupid things going wrong.
I picked up my little cactus plant to water it, but instead, I grabbed the actual plant.
I tripped over the corner of a mat that has been there for 6 months.
I dropped a huge container of watermelon all over the freshly mopped floor.
I knocked a jar of sundried tomatoes and it fell out of the pantry, putting glass, oil and my fave sundried tomatoes all over the floor.
I was mucking around, being silly and dropped my phone face down on concrete.

As you can image, it was just a whole day.

Then this happened.

The pure walk of shame I had to do downstairs to tell my partner (who had been putting this a set of dresser drawers together) that I had somehow managed to get a drawer stuck (when the unit wasn't even finished being built). This drawer was in there good, probs because I pushed it in there when it was gliding in and now it was jammed. I tried everything. I yelled at it. Nearly cried. And so, cue the walk of shame to tell him that he now had to undo all of his work, just to fix my mistake.

Oops.

In case you're on the edge of your seat, it was all fine in the end. Turns out there was a little lever that I had to push up instead of down and it slid out. No drawers were harmed, just my ego.

If I had just taken a breather, looked at the problem objectively and took a step back, I would've realised that it wasn't that bad. And it was easily fixable.

And by now, you're saying WTF does this have to do with anything, Kaitlyn??

Well, here's the truth.

Take a step back.

Something in your business isn't working, it's probably because you're too close to it.
Problems always seem worse than they are when you're down in the weeds of it.
Small, never ending tasks can feel overwhelming and more often than not, those little tasks are not where the problem lies. Taking a step back, you'll be able to see the bigger picture and accurately pinpoint the problem or challenge and resolve it in a timely, effective manner.

You're not stupid or incapable.

You're most likely a product of your current environment.
Similar to above, you just need to see the bigger picture. Just because isn't working doesn't mean it's because of you. It can be the platform isn't right. The provider isn't right.
More often than not, small tweaks (or trying something completely left of field) is crucial to making you feel accomplished and as if you're making waves towards your goal.

If it's not your strength, don't force it.

You don't need to know how to do everything. Again, like above, you're not stupid or incapable, it's just not your forte.
Outsource where you can, and find the right provider for you. Make sure it's someone you connect with, can be honest with and who you can trust. As soon as you can't or the relationship isn't serving your business, it's okay to move on and find someone else.
Sometimes trying to fix problems when you don't actually know how to fix it can cost you more time, energy, money and can be a major source of frustration.

Name to tame.

When you understand what the issue is in your business, then you can do something different. Define and refine!
Identifying it is the first step.
If you can outsource, great! If you can't, then it's time to knuckle down, but don't be afraid to come up for air and always look at the bigger picture — regularly.

We all mistakes. We all have to put our tail between our legs at some point because we f*cked up. But guess what, investing in branding, for you and your business, will not be one of them.

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