Yesterday I was deep in the messy middle. Working on a Special Report project that I have been focusing on since January, I was at the stage of getting feedback.

I had sent the report out to 10 folks, and I heard back from five of them yesterday. You know when you’ve been working on something intently for weeks and you think you’re done?

That was me yesterday before I read the feedback. I thought all the data analysis and recalculating was the messy part. Silly me, turns out this project has two messy humps like a camel.

I definitely value feedback and I know it’s an important part of the process. I was not disappointed, but I was “recalibrated.” I was not at the “wrap it up” stage after all.

What do you do when you land back in a messy place? I reached out to a trusted colleague. His enthusiastic voice said, “let’s see what you got.” He was the shot of adrenaline I needed to jump back into the ring and fight another round.

For me, finding a friend or colleague to help me reframe my view is one of the quickest ways forward. As a business owner, we all need that community for support.