Seeing the bigger picture

I'm sure we have all been there. Watching a friend or a loved one in a relationship that is obviously painful to everyone but them.

You try to sit and encourage them to see it differently and show how life doesn't need to be this difficult. But at the end of the day, we can only do so much. Hoping that they will see the toxic situation they are in and pull themselves out.

You might even get to hear those words, “thank you for looking out for my best intentions”.

So many times this type of situation plays into areas of our lives and work that we don't even realize. Being able to identify our own toxicity is such an incredible skill that not many people even think about working on (or towards). Let’s quickly look at how we can identify and remove toxic situations from our design flow.

Keeping things fresh

I don't even want to count the number of times I have approached a project with the same outlook that I approached the last 5 projects. Going in with a certain vision and just “knocking it out” while may be effective, isn’t helping us grow at all.

If there is one thing I have hammered on this blog series, it's that I want us to grow!

Now how is this a toxic situation? Well, if you were to go into every relationship the exact same way and walk out with the same end result (probably not the greatest) then that would be a form of insanity right? Doing the same task over and over and expecting a different result?

If we approach every design with a fresh air, and not get too caught up in what kind of worked last time. As well as an active intention to do better, think about how much more meaningful our work will not only feel but actually become?

Setting the example

Now there are many tones you can attach that first idea to. Starting a project, miro boards, data collection, design elements, etc. But in order to keep this brief, I just want to touch on this other aspect.

We are brought up in a society of followers, go to school, do the work, get a passing grade, move on. But we sit and admire all of these innovators and leaders that are constantly changing the game.

The biggest difference between them and you? They don't settle, they aren't letting toxic habits control their everyday life.

If we continue to do the same design work as everyone else, we will be just that. Everyone else.

Analyze yourself, your mindset, your habits. What is holding you back and keeping you from that next level of potential?

Im not asking you to become the next Steve Jobs, but I am asking you how can you remove that “bad girl/boyfriend” from your life?

-until next time-