We have all been there. It might be a situation or a person, but we have all had that moment. It’s a place I like to call “At Wit’s End.” Let me paint a picture. You know you have a busy day, so you make it a point to get up early. Your alarm goes off, and you are just plain tired. But because of your full day, you drag yourself out of bed. When you head through the darkness to the kitchen to make coffee, you stub your toe on the coffee table. Then you make coffee and you sit down to get started on your computer. But the puppy hears you up and starts to bark. In order to keep him quiet, you run up to get him and take him outside. While you are outside the coffee overflows and makes a mess on the kitchen floor. While cleaning that up, the puppy makes a mess by the door (you were just out!). This series of events continues and, despite getting up early, you get nothing pro-active done for the day. You take a deep breath. It’s fine. You can just get ahead once you get to the office. But the trend continues. You get cut off in traffic. You spill your coffee on yourself on the way. You get stuck behind a train. You get a nasty email from a client. Then you get a nasty follow up email from the boss (who was copied in on the client email). The day just spirals out of control. You are “At Wit’s End.” In order to take a break you head to get some Sprite out of the fridge. You had some in there for moments like this. But you reach into the box and the Sprite is gone. Someone had helped themselves to your drinks! Naturally…you lose your mind. You yell to everyone in the office! You throw the box. You stomp, carry on and generally throw a tantrum. And all anyone in the office knows is someone took your last $.50 can of sugar water. Jeesh. What a baby. But you and I know it wasn’t the Sprite. It was a whole series of unrelated events that led you here. The Sprite was just “the last straw.” We understand the concept of “the last straw.” Most of us have used it or heard it on more than one occasion. But have you noticed, it’s always in the negative. I get it. That’s just the connotation. But have you ever considered it a different way? Let’s take sales. You have reached out to the prospect again and again. You feel like they are a great fit. They have even given you some positive feedback. But time after time, you send proposals and presentations…and nothing. You have been charming and professional. You just can’t seem to break through. Then one day, after a seemingly innocuous email, they take the next step! It wasn’t that you were more brilliant on that point of contact. It was just “the last straw.” Or how about Content? You have written that blog over and over. You work to cover interesting topics and give your specific take. You have a point of view. It’s well written. It’s targeted to a great audience. But day after day, week after week, very little action is happening. Then one day it changes. One day a blog takes off. It gets shared. It drives leads. It hits the mark. Was it that this particular blog was the best one yet? Or was it just “the last straw?” Keep showing up. Keep providing value. Keep doing your good work. You never know when this will just be “the last straw.” Make sure you never miss an update! Today might be the last straw for you. Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We gather each piece of content and send one email, so you have them in one place. Sign up here.
