On Living & Learning

When it comes to doing my job correctly, I am the ultimate perfectionist. Whether it's my efforts in Social Media, organizing a client appearance or putting together an event, if everything isn't ridiculously perfect, I berate myself to no end. This insane amount of self-induced pressure definitely isn't healthy, and lately I've been working hard to remind myself that it's O.K. to [sometimes] make mistakes.

PR is something that comes rather naturally to me, and I'm grateful that I've chosen the correct career path; however, I'm really trying to keep in mind that even the most seasoned professionals drop the ball every once in a while.

It's not that I've made detrimental mistakes, but the little errors I have made throughout my very new career have caused me a lot of worry. Here's what I've learned to accept: People mess up. We all make mistakes, we all face challenges that are difficult to overcome. As long as we learn from these mistakes and find a way to turn bad circumstances into life lessons, then something great can come out of something terrible. 

I have experienced countless instances where my boss has asked me to do something and I simply get busy and forget to do it. I've had clients get upset with me for things that were both totally within my control and for things that I had no influence over whatsoever. Each mini crisis, although thoroughly frightening at first, has made me a little wiser and a little more experienced.

So, to my fellow young professionals, I say this: I know I'm on my soapbox a lot on here, but I'm not perfect. And that's O.K. You don't have to be perfect, either. Just take each day in stride and remember that at this very early point in our careers, we are all just living and learning.