What To Do When Things Go Wrong

I wish it was possible to have a world where everything went as planned and everything went the way we want things to go. But since this is the real world, that is not the case.

Things will go wrong.

Days will suck.

We will get bad reviews on books 

Editors will change.

The industry will change.

And, you now have to deal with things. But how?

The first thing that most people do is start placing blame on everyone else. It is always the fault of someone else. I mean, really... did we plan for things to go south? Did we want things to not work out? Of course not. We did everything right.

But that is not the right approach to take. You have to examine everything that happened going in and determine where the fault really lies. And you know what? It might be you. 

So, how do you deal with this. 

First, go ahead and vent a little. If you don't let off that emotional steam, your lack of critical thinking skills will continue. You are already not thinking clearly, so how on earth do you plan to think your way through this problem.

Now, step number two - look at the variables. What things did you really have control over and what things were out of your control. This will be the most telling step. As you objectively look at the situation, determine those things that you chose to do that might have led you into that decision. 

In publishing, for example, I see a lot of people suddenly complain about how things are playing out with their book sales. They chose to take the self-publishing route and things flopped. So, where does the fault lie here? It isn't the company and it isn't the book seller. This is entirely on your shoulders.

But let's say this is an issue of sales, and your publisher doesn't have the distribution you want. Again, this might be you since you chose that company. But if it is a company that has taken a different approach, different then what you signed up for, then yes, the fault may be somewhere else.

I don't want to go on and on about each of the scenarios, what I do want to get to is the ultimate solution. Ask yourself 

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?

Not, what are they going to do for me. Not quit. What are YOU going to do for yourself. Because, in the end, it is up to you to decide how your future is going to play out. If you want things better, then it is up to YOU to decide how you are going to approach this.

So, suck it up buttercup! Make it work. Quit complaining. Move on!

Motivation for the week!