Be cool, man...just keep your cool! Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you are already extremely nervous and that makes you more of mess than you usually are? Let me explain. I had a call with my friend who helped me start this podcast. I hadn't talked to him in a while because he kind of yelled at me for not knowing some of the tech basics which made it hard for me to communicate with him. I can be sensitive and I took this scolding kind of hard. So, I haven't been in touch since June, I think. I was saving my "get some help free card" for when I really needed it.
As you know I've been struggling with Mac somewhat and the adjustment. I am going over to my girl Cheryl's house tomorrow and she is gonna hook me up. But I know she wouldn't be familiar with the app I use to record my podcasts. So I reached out to Matthew for some help. He said he would be glad to help me (Yay) and sent up a Skype call for later in the week. I am not a Skype user. I've only ever used it with him and getting connected properly was part of the problem with our last call. So I went over the basics, made sure everything was installed and set up properly before this call started. I sit down to eat some breakfast 20 minutes before the call to find an email from him saying he was ready if I was. Now, in my haste to take up as little time as possible I jumped on Skype and dialed in without hesitation. I should have given myself a few minutes to make sure everything was just right because now I was rushing and nothing usually comes from that.
I get connected on the call. I can see him, figure out how to get him to see me and he starts directing me on how to share my screen with him when I accidentally end the call. And then, guess what happened? I had hit an update later in an earlier session on my laptop and it's going to do it now. Yep, worst case scenario. I see that it will take 29 minutes. WHAT? Are you freaking kidding me??? The absolute worst has happened. I was hoping it wouldn't take that long since they seem to overestimate these things but it took a while. I send him an email saying the computer was updating and if I can't get back with him by the appointed time then to not worry about it. He said, no worries...he was going to be on a conference call but could get away when I was ready. PHEW! But I am sweating it. I mean, seriously sweating it. Staring at the screen. Yelling at it. Giving it dirty looks. Asking it; "why, why are you taking so long?" Then I realize that I am causing myself so much stress. Whatever happens at this point is already happening. I literally said to myself, be cool McClure....just be cool.
I finally got the computer up and running again and called him back. I had a couple more issues and I sensed him getting a little impatient with me again but he reeled himself in and kept his cool. He ended up answering all my questions and really set me up. He was an enormous help. I was very grateful.
But after the whole ordeal was over I realized I probably made things a whole lot worse because I was so afraid I wasn't going to get things right. I ultimately made things even more of a mess because I was so freaked out. If I would have just kept my cool it probably would have gone much smoother. Another thing is this....I didn't ask for the Skype call. He offered to do that. He knows I'm not tech inclined and admitted I needed help because I can't figure out my new computer. He was aware of what he was getting himself into. And I made it so much harder than it had to be.
So, when you are in a situation where you are nervous or really worried you are going to screw up. Be cool. Seriously, keep your cool. In fact, the best thing I could have done is to figure out the worst case scenario and prepare for possible disaster. That way I could have figured out some of the issues before hand. Also, it usually demonstrates that we think things will be much worse than they actually turn out to be. So, it may seem silly to do that little exercise beforehand but it will calm you. And doesn't that make it worth it?
It's Monday! My favorite day after Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A brand new week full of opportunities and possibilities. Now, go kick some Monday ass! And make today, your best day yet!
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