No. 3 - WHAT HAPPENS WHEN………?
This is post Number 3 in the series “What Happens When………?”
What did I just do?
How did I mess this up?
Most importantly, how on earth do I fix this and do it fast?
Picture the screaming banshee in my head, leveling a barrage of unending commentary about my most recent screw up. A rush of emotions drowns me while I literally feel my ability to think tanking from the torpedo hit.
DOWN THE TUNNEL
I know this experience intimately. Instant flash from zero to a hundred.
I feel slightly ill. I can’t think clearly. I’ve been pushing it hard for three days solid.
What have I been doing?
I was working on four posts and two NFT’s, all at the same time for three days in a row. I did this because all of them are connected together in a short series. I needed them to flow together into one another.
When I create, I need to step into what I describe as “a river” and move with it. I focus intensely when doing this. I produce well under such self-imposed pressure. I’m not recommending this approach by any means; it’s simply my way of working.
BEHIND THE EYES I
What happened?
I wanted to create two posts on the same day, plus mint one NFT. I’m still new to minting NFT’s. I’ve noticed I feel slightly obsessive while I go through the process. It’s the focus on not making any errors with the minting of an NFT. I’m not fond of making errors. I can’t imagine many people are.
One post was for the #shadowhunters competition to be posted in their community. The other post was about the NFT, meant to go in the #alienarthive community. I had everything prepared, edited, and finalized. I’m detail oriented and organized in my approach with these kinds of things. It makes it easier because there are always unexpected pitfalls to deal with. Creating two separate drafts in two dapps resulted in my publishing the #shadowhunters post in the incorrect community, even though I had it set up to publish in the correct community.
BEHIND THE EYES II
I noticed the mistake within minutes. I wasn’t sure how to fix it. I was already in a state of total aggravation with myself, so it was hard to have a thought process about how to correct the mistake, since I couldn’t delete it. I asked for help and at the same time yanked the breaks on the thought train in my head.
I had to focus. I had to fix this now before it became worse. When an action needs to be taken and there’s no time to deal with how I feel about it, my internal reaction has to be set aside. Into a box it goes, with the promise to myself that I’ll look at it immediately after I address the situation.
BEHIND THE EYES III
While I waited for some assistance, I quickly ran through what I thought would be the best solution to correct it with minimal impact to others. I decided to edit the post, remove the content, and place a short clear apology and explanation. Later, I found out this was the best solution, which was good feedback to receive.
I see this error of posting incorrectly in a community as a learning opportunity and it’s been a useful one. I know what to do to avoid a repeat. So, it’s not really that much of an issue.
I’ve been in several situations where any error costs far more than something like this one; even some where it directly impacts another person’s life and/or their freedom. It takes nerves of steel in such situations and a laser focus.
I have an ingrained habitual response to errors for this reason. It’s one I’m fully aware of. I’m ready for it when it happens. I did the self-exploration around all of this. With that knowledge of myself, I developed a structure of how to deal with such situations. It’s a bit like a flexible map that is applied to fit each situation as it arises. It’s guaranteed that I will always make mistakes. That’s how life in this world is. What matters, is how I address and respond to them that makes the difference.
TUNNEL END LIGHT
A shout out to @dandays; it is such fun getting to know you. I included an amber carving that I thought was fitting for this post, since doing a new one takes at least a month. I felt it was unfair to keep you in suspense for so long. This post was inspired by @dandays’s comment below:
All photos taken by Nine with a Pentax digital 35mm camera and 90mm Tamron Macro lens.