DON'T Keep Your Nose to the Grindstone

Have you ever had a day where no matter how hard you tried, you just did lousy work? Of course you have.

As you may have noticed, I write a lot. But that doesn't mean that every time I try to write a new piece, something worthwhile results. Some days, instead of composing an eloquent paragraph that grabs your attention and causes your soul to stir, I end up creating something more like this:

Rainy day no good. Me sad.

Being relatively tenacious, I switch strategies, perhaps doing a bit of research or making a few long-delayed phone calls. Then I return to the keyboard and try again:

Me sad because bad rain made me wet.

Still horrible. I may put my laptop down and go the the gym, exercise, take a shower, and grab lunch. Two hours elapse. Filled with energy, I try again:

Me happy when rain in Spain falls mainly on the plane.

A wise man or woman knows when to quit. I'm not going to write a masterpiece that day, and I admit defeat and quit for the day.

Does this mean I don't care about my clients, or my readers? Not at all. To the contrary, it means I care too much to share uninspired nonsense.

Some don't admit it when their work falls short of expectations. They keep their nose to the grindstone. They keep working, struggling, fighting. And you know what happens?

They do mediocre work, and settle for it.

One of the great truths of life is that you don't always win. Sometimes the universe walks right up to you, stands in your path, grabs your shoulders with both hands, and tells you, "Not today. Go home."

To recover from these lost days, you might have to work a few extra nights and weekends. You might have to temporarily disappoint your boss, colleagues, friends or family. You might have to (gasp) admit that you are human or that (how humiliating!) you, too, can have a bad day.

To some, admitting weakness is tantamount to confessing to a felony. Beware these people; they are not to be trusted. Why? Because they have grown used to deceiving themselves and others.

Here's the cold, hard fact: if you keep your nose to the grindstone on the wrong day, all you get is a short nose.

Bruce Kasanoff is a ghostwriter for entrepreneurs. Learn more at Kasanoff.com. He is the author of How to Self-Promote without Being a Jerk.