Weeding

Today I took advantage of the unseasonably warm temperatures and spent the day in the garden.

I’m so happy to be outside in the sunshine after being cooped up for four months. I plot out which plants need to be moved or divided. I asses the things that didn’t fare well over the winter and pull them out, making room for the new plants I can’t wait to try.

Interestingly, as I cleared away the dry leaves I discovered I’m not the only one who is getting started earlier than usual — the weeds are up in full force. But its so nice out, I don’t even mind weeding. Big tasks may make me feel accomplished, but its the seemingly minor task of pulling weeds that really seems to clear my head.

Somewhere along the line, I start to notice how much weeds are like thoughts — some are helpful and some are not. Pulling out invasive weeds is like stopping invasive or ruminating thoughts. Its satisfying to yank them out and discard them.

Its much likely for new plants to take root and thrive if the old weeds are removed first. In much the same way, its easier to get healthy habits to take root if you first remove the negative beliefs and thoughts of resistance first.

Bad habits, like weeds may pop up again. But they’re weaker the second time around, and much easier to manage.

Balance

Have you ever noticed how often people talk about needing more balance in their lives? It’s like we are on a never-ending quest for work/life balance.

I used to think balance was about proper allotments of time and energy to key aspects of life would increase my happiness. Being a rule follower, I gave my physical health focus by exercising and eating well, meditating for mental and spiritual wellbeing, and keeping my family and social connections strong. Of course, work was always the biggest challenge — I tried to keep reasonable hours but sometimes that’s easier said than done. Daily balance may not always be doable, but if I looked at my overall efforts over a week I could call it balanced.

But did that ever really raise my happiness level? Satisfy me more? Not really.

When I’m really honest with myself, I admit that some of my happiest times are when I’m wildly out of balance. When I’m in a creative flow, I am all in 100%. I let food and exercise slide, may not see family and friends much, and my sleep gets out of whack. But when I’m in the flow I feel more optimistic, connected and alive — I love it!

I’m also seeing balance as longer game than I used to. Maybe its not about daily, weekly or monthly measurement. Maybe balance comes over a lifetime. Lifestages have a tendency to pull our focus in different directions. An overwhelmed parent may seem out of balance on a daily basis, but the much longer empty nest years balance that out. Maybe blanace is something best judged from a rearview mirror.

I’m not saying I want to be irresponsible or let my health go or become a hermit. But balance just may be about allowing room for imbalance too.

In Praise of Hobbies

My parents were avid gardeners. Especially once they were retired. They spent hours in the yard, cleaning it up in the Spring and Fall and nurturing it through the summer. When I was a kid, I loved using the yard but it seemed like a lot of work. I didn’t understand that it was their hobby so it wasn’t a chore to them. Fast forward to me as a homeowner, and I am now a gardener too. It doesn’t feel like work to me now, either.

As a designer, I tend to pick up a hobby pretty fast and learn to do it well because I understand production and work well with details. Once in awhile, there’s a real temptation lurking in the background to turn it into something more… a side hustle. Well meaning friends and family are always making suggestions to explore a hobby as a business. That sounds like a nightmare to me.

The thing about a hobby is that it’s enjoyable because it’s an escape from the pressure of work and daily problems. As soon as it takes on a hint of professionalism, it gets serious. Perfectionism sneaks in. Something I used to love to do becomes something I have to do and all the fun goes out of it.

That’s why I love gardening as a hobby. It’s not something I’m going to do professionally or be hired to do for anyone else. I can screw stuff up, try something else, or just let weeds grow when I’m too tired to deal with it. It will never be perfect.

Win/win

Career lesson #27: Determine if your business relationships are win/win or win/lose situations.

I learned this one on a sales call with a new colleague. Prior to joining us, he led a competing team in our market and a was sales pro. He was also a really likable guy who could make me laugh. Always a good sign.

Still new to professional consulting, I was eager to learn from his sales experience. My prior jobs at design firms were focused on creativity and quality. In this firm I was also measured on billable hours and sales, so I had a bit of a learning curve. Most of my clients were in other cities and I wanted to be successful at home, too.

Our call was with a new manufacturing prospect and it was tough. One of those discussions where you go in optimistically open-minded, have a good conversation and know you can help solve their problem. It felt like we were connecting, but the client’s mood shifted from friendly to dismissive, even a bit condescending at the end.

After we hung up, my colleague shared an observation that has stuck with me ever since. Years ago, he had noticed a dynamic in our local business climate. A heavy manufacturing city with deep roots in organized labor, clients here often preferred win/lose relationships. Meaning, a good deal meant one party gets more from the arrangement then the other party does.

He then went on to say that it wasn’t a good or bad thing — just an insight. It didn’t mean we had to take a loss, in fact the market is lucrative with a profitable client base. We could still “win” by meeting our goals, but the client needed to perceive a “deal.” It calls for strategic tactics. We had to invest in the relationship, and make our value clear.

It took a bit of grit and grace to learn how to play the game confidently, and I gained useful skills and a tougher skin. It also made me really appreciate win/win relationships and markets.

When things feel off professionally or personally, I try to take a step back and assess my own mindset and expectations. What kind of deal are each of us expecting?

This as actually a solid life lesson. I now seek win/win situations as much as possible.

Seeing vs. Looking

As a child, I loved to draw. My best friend and I spent hours copying our favorite cartoon characters and illustrations from magazines and books. Fascinated by celebrity caricatures and portraits, I strove to capture likenesses. I practiced drawing details and mastering pencil and ink. Teachers and classmates praised my artistic talent and I dreamt of going to art school.

So I felt quite confident in my first college life drawing class — after all, I was good at drawing. As the instructor walked through the class, she stopped to give us individual feedback. When she got to me, she gave me a magic key that influences more than just my drawings, to this day.

She told me to stop thinking about what I was looking at and really see it. She pointed out my drawing of the model’s mouth. Something was off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was like a light came on when I realized I had drawn 10 teeth when all I could really see was 6. My mind had been driving me instead of my eyes. When I got back to my dorm room, I looked at some old drawings and was mortified to see I had a habit of drawing not only too many teeth, but fully outlined ones. How could I have missed that?! And why did other people praise my work?!

It’s easy to look at things, yet not truly see them. A scanning mind may recognize the overall visual effect but not necessarily the details. It’s easy to make assumptions based on past impressions.

Now I focus on and study things I need to draw. Even if the end goal is a stylized illustration or logo element, I like to have a solid understanding of the details that make something uniquely what it is.

I try to do the same thing with people — aiming to really see them and hear what they’re saying, not just listen to them talk. I think that’s where authentic connection starts.

Walking is an antidote to creative blocks

We all hit creative blocks. You know the brick wall you can’t seem to get past, usually as a deadline looms.

When I hit that wall its a signal that my well of inspiration is drying up and I need a big refill. Unfortunately, I may need rest or a trip somewhere to replenish my well, but I don’t have time for it. If I’m on the hamster wheel of production I need a quick fix.

That’s when I get up and talk a walk without headphones.

Something about being outside quickly stops my rumination. I become present and the repetitive thoughts start to fade. Maybe it’s the fresh air or all the details of the world around me. Maybe its the randomness and lack of control I have over what I encounter. It could even be that physical movement shifts my energy and focus outside of my head.

After 20 minutes or so, new thoughts come in. I feel clearer and often sparks of new ideas may pop up. If nothing else, I’m less anxious and frustrated.

I used to dread creative blocks. Now I just get up and get moving.

Beauty is the antidote to discord.

I believe beauty can transform the ugliness around us and inspire our souls. It has the power to capture us emotionally, overtaking logic in a nanosecond. It can lift our spirits, surprise us, calm and heal us. It’s intrinsic value is immense.

Over the past decade, I’ve noticed a change in the design zeitgeist. After decades of adhering to narrow aesthetic standards defined by minimalism, especially in graphic design, an explosion of beauty is expanding our definition of “good” design. The idea that one single, International Design style could be appropriate to all applications with global appeal was preposterous and arrogant.

Following WWII, midcentury design injected an optimism that lightened things up in furniture and interior design while humor inched into advertising. But as companies grew and diversified, corporate standards increasingly dismissed ornamentation as unnecessary or indulgent and led a streamlined conformity that dominated much of the graphic design world. Beauty was a disregarded, archaic ideal.

Thankfully, there’s been an explosion of diverse styles that balance the neutrality of the past. Personality is not only allowed, its embraced as differentiator. Openness is an antidote to conformity, and expansion is an antidote to boredom.

Don’t get me wrong — the cool intellectualism of the Bauhaus, succinctly summed up by Mies Vander Rohe as “less is more” will always be relevant. There’s a timelessness to mid-20th century design. I embrace the grace of a Barcelona chair, the balance of Helvetica and the simplicity of Philip Johnson’s Glass house. AND I also appreciate the lyricism of William Morris’ Pimpernel wallpaper, the streamlined glamour of the Chrysler Building and the extravagance of Justina Blakeney’s Jungalow interiors.

In a world that seems to be brimming with stress, anxiety, and tension, creating beauty used to feel like an act of rebellion. Now it just feels like freedom.