Feeling the pressure to do something new?
The year that seemed it would never end eventually did and we’ve made it to 2021. Happy New Year!
What expectations do you have for this year? After the Armageddon that was 2020, perhaps 'expectation' has been well and truly expunged from your vocabulary. Yet as a new year dawns, it inevitably creates a sense of expectation – the feeling that something is about to happen. Even more pressing – the feeling that we’re supposed to make something new happen.
If you’re feeling the pressure to create some new-fangled wonderment because the calendar turned, stop. Like a damp squib of a New Year’s Eve party, the expectation inherent in something new is often a bit of a let-down. The real excitement is in iterating what’s gone before.
Why do we put so much pressure on ‘new’ in January?
I spent the first week of January in a strange daze. I half expected something new to happen and then realised that the only thing that was different, was that the sun stayed up in the sky for a minute or so longer than the week before. Have you noticed it too?
The pressure (the expectation) to lay your mind, body and soul upon the sacrificial altar of newness at this time of year can be irresistible. Especially when you’re running a business. Because, Dude, if you’re not innovating, what are you even doing?
Codswallop. A lack of newness never hurt these guys.
It got me thinking: perhaps a new year is not so much about expecting – or even creating – something new, but an opportunity to improve what's gone before. A chance to refine, tinker with, amend the old. A chance to iterate.
So what exactly is the tension between expectation and iteration? How can we release the former and embrace the latter?
It boils down to a tension between new vs. old; what has yet to come vs. what has gone before. This came to light for me this week as I worked on two of my own projects: this newsletter and a workshop I'm about to run for the second time with a collaborator.
Let me explain… perhaps you’ll recognise this tension in your own life and work too.
Drop expectations: iterations are far more interesting
When you do something for the first time, expectations are inherent. Even when you think you have none.
If I do X, I expect (hope, want, wish) Y will happen – If I study the highway code and practise enough, I expect I will pass my driving test
If you don't know what will happen, you expect that you will learn something – Instead of expecting a particular outcome, you expect to gain some kind of unanticipated wisdom. If I move to Rome, what will my life be like? What will I learn, how will my days unfold?
If you do something that is totally alien or outside your comfort zone, you might expect the worst – If I try ice skating, I’ll fall over and break a bone; If I move to Italy, I won’t be able to get a job or make friends because I don’t speak the language and I expect I’ll have to come home again
What happens when we shift away from thinking of all that’s new and focus on iterating existing skills or what we already know?
I understand the rules of the road from riding my bike. How can I make use of that knowledge in the car?
Every day begins with coffee. I wonder what getting my morning coffee will look like in Rome?
Italian is not my first language but I love football. Why don’t I look for a five-a-side team?
Building on what you already know opens up so many more possibilities than doing something totally new because you have the benefit of all that accumulated wisdom.
When I started this newsletter, I had no idea where it would take me or what I would learn. Turns out, I learnt quite a bit. The point is, when I was a newsletter newbie, I expected to gain a new level of knowledge, simply by going through the process of doing something I had never done before.
Likewise, when I did my first ever workshop last year, I expected it to go a certain way and I expected to discover how it feels to plan, create, deliver and facilitate a piece of work. And I did!
That process of learning is exciting and expectations can be helpful, because they heighten our awareness of what we think is going to play out. The greater our awareness, the more in tune we are with how things actually unfold, and the greater the learning opportunity.
I'm all for learning. But there's joy and magic in iterating too. Arguably more so.
The reason why iteration > expectation
When you do something for the second time, third, fourth, tenth, fiftieth, sixtieth, one-hundredth time, you don't have to start wholly from scratch. You get to take all of the good bits of what's gone before, and tweak them and make them even better. And the not so good stuff? You can ditch it, change it, swap it for something else... safe in the knowledge that you're going to be just fine.
I'm convinced it's why when you ask any grandparent if they'd like to be twenty-one again, they respond with a resounding, 'No!'
Perhaps it's the reason behind the saying that 'youth is wasted on the young.' All the good stuff comes much further down the line, far away from the fizz of the Prosecco, the crackle and bang of the fireworks, and the BONGGG of the bells striking midnight and the start of a new year.
Iterating is freeing
Amending something is more exciting than doing something for the first time, because it frees you from the huge expectations inherent in novelty. It moves you to a place of 'let's just wait and see...' rather than doing something for the first time and being in the headspace of, 'Oh my giddy Aunt, what is going to happen?!'
When you've done something once, it removes the burden of being a novice. You know that nothing really bad is going to happen, so you can relax and play around with the formula, while being open-minded about what comes up.
I'd like to think that's where I'm headed with my own projects. With a bit of luck, you are too! I hope, as this year marches on, that we'll tread an iterative path along this newsletter trail. It's my aim to keep providing you with as much value as possible and to keep on being as helpful to your mission as you reading this is to mine.
2021 plans
There are some exciting things in the works! Some, admittedly, are new and I'm trying to keep my expectations on a tight rein. More on new ventures in future newsletters!
For now, I'd like to share with you two iterations.
This newsletter
When I set this newsletter up, I didn't really know where it was going. In truth, I still don't. I'd like to say that I spent the Christmas break being super productive and analytical about my strategy, but I wasn't. I was neck-high in Quality Street, wrapping paper and fuzzy PJs. Good times.
From the last 45 issues, it seems as though people enjoy what I'm doing - and I thank you for it, friends, Romans, country(wo)men! As such, the overall gist of the newsletter will remain unchanged.
One thing that is kicking around my head is more content; perhaps in another format, as a second email, a shorter post... I haven't decided yet. That's the power of iteration at work, see? Small tweaks till you hit upon the right formula ;)
I can say for certain that the Weekly Recommendations will be no more. I've enjoyed sharing with you what's entertained and intrigued me over the last year or so. Truth be told, recommendations in newsletters are done far and wide and – I'm not ashamed to say – are done a lot better by many other folk than they are by me. So I'll bid it a fond farewell and leave it in 2020.
Fear not – the weekly writing prompt shall remain! I know it's a popular feature and if you've enjoyed it over the last year, I see you! Got your back on that one 😊
Tagline workshop
Before Christmas I embarked upon a new venture: delivering a workshop for the first time. Lucky for me, I now get to iterate as my collaborator, Egle Vilutyte, and I prepare for round two.
The workshop will be an opportunity to think more deeply about your brand, particularly your verbal brand. Spread over two sessions, you'll learn the method and creative magic you need to write your brand's tagline.
Details, dates and need-to-knows are here. And if you've been before, tell your friends!
My network can receive a 15% discount using the code LAURA15. Hope to see you there.
What are you iterating this year?
Enough about me. Tell me what you're up to this year, and how you're iterating what's gone before. If you've got new plans, by all means, share them in the comments, hit reply and let me know.
What are you excited to keep on keeping on with? I'm curious to know – no matter how small. So please do share, I'd love to hear all about your plans.
And whatever you're doing, no matter what schemes you have underway, choosing the right words will help you get there. So remember...
Your words matter,
Laura
The Weekly Writing Reflection
Welcome!
Each week I share an inspirational quote and a writing prompt. The idea is for you to spend a moment doing some active reflection through writing.
Here’s your quote for this week, brought to my attention originally by Harry Watson. Thanks Harry!
“In our time there are many artists who do something because it is new; they see their value and their justification in this newness. They are deceiving themselves; novelty is seldom the essential. This has to do with one thing only; making a subject better from its intrinsic nature.”
- Henri de Toulouse Lautrec
And your writing prompt, if you don't fancy going freestyle:
When I let go of my obsession with what's new, I discover...
Thank you for reading! If you know someone who’s feeling the pressure to embrace the ‘NEW NEW NEW’ at this time of year, why not share this with them? It might just be the prompt they need to say, ‘You know what? I’m actually doing just fine…’
See you next week!