Love the Messy Middle

When I paint, I often lay down the paint and step back.

What I see often looks nothing like what my vision for the the painting.

Depending on the medium, I love soft pastels and watercolors, you get to this stage where the painting is messy with pastels.

Sometimes the painting has a muddy quality to it.

It's the moment when you step back and throw your hands up and admit, “I don't know what to do with this mess.”

It's tempting to say “I need to start over”.

What I've learned is that if I step away for a few hours, or a few days, when I come back to the painting, I see some redeeming parts to it.

I see a way back into the work to solve the chaos, to bring order and balance.

As entrepreneurs, we spend our days problem solving.

It is what we thrive on.

Yet we are frustrated when these problems appear.

I suggest reframing our role and realizing that as entrepreneurs, we live in the messy middle while we are constantly seeking at the same time, novelty and order.

Novelty allows us to create and innovate and bring something new to the market, while order gives us consistency and coherence to our processes.

We need both, but they are pulling us and our organizations in different directions.

We don't want the mess, but it is necessary to create something bigger.

It is actually comforting to realize there is no breakthrough without a breakdown.

So take a break, take care of yourself, and embrace the messy middle.

When you approach the mess with fresh eyes and creativity, you will see your way through it and create something grander than what you had before.

OurEcommerce Business Performance Assessmentcan help you see the mess and then find the order. Take 5 minutes now to see where your business stands.

Cyndi