I’ve had one of those months.

Things aren’t really lining up perfectly at work…sales are a little slower, some systems aren’t as efficient, and I’m most certainly more scattered & unorganized.  Some of my ideas aren’t panning out, and the ones that do seem to require a lot of my time–which is a little limited right now.

This doesn’t make me angry, ungrateful, or even frustrated necessarily.  I do notice, though, a constant unease.  I’m a little more in my own head, I’m less focused, feel less productive, and no doubt, I’m less pleasant to be around.

Sorry everyone.  Ahem.

Growing Slowly | Perfectly Imperfect

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Isn’t that just like us?  Things get a little more difficult, the path is a little rockier or overgrown…and we are rattled.  I am, at least.  Running into those obstacles in operating a creative business isn’t crippling to me, but usually by the time I notice how agitated I am, they have certainly derailed my thoughts and my energy.

Retail can be hard.  Blogging can be hard.  Writing a book can be hard.  Juggling those can be hard.

Creative work is simply hard sometimes.

I like to go for what I want, and man, when something gets in my way, it’s not my favorite.  I like to think that most of the time I just assess what the solution should be, but sometimes, the list of “just not quite right” is much longer than the “going well.”  My thoughts are derailed and my mind is unsettled.

Growing Slowly | Perfectly Imperfect

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But that’s the problem, right?

We get so consumed with the what and when of our wants, that we can hardly see it.  We are already on our way to the want.

Goals and plans and systems are important, especially running several businesses.  And I do want to accomplish it all.  I want to tackle every single thing I put my mind to.  Stubborn like that.

But…the getting there is part of the fun.

Growing Slowly | Perfectly Imperfect

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We all have so many goals and hopes for PI and Factory South, and it is a lot to juggle.  Some things are going to work out and some won’t.

That’s the nature of business.  There are times of excellent growth and accomplishment, and times of standing still.  As a matter of fact, it would do me a lot of good to remember in the seasons of growth that some tests and tension are right around the corner.

I’m re-learning that struggling through some of the how and the process is energizing in an odd way.  It forces you to be in the moment, to tackle one problem at a time.  To fine tune.  To be better.

We’ll grow slowly, one day at a time.  We’ll remind ourselves to enjoy the process.

But we’ll get there.