Dec 22, 2018
During the Holiday Grind getting through the days where you
wanna be somewhere else besides the studio can be one of the most
difficult disciplines of a business owner. The days where you’d
rather stay in bed, or hike a trail instead of full-filling an
order and having to make that umpteenth wrap and rake spoon or
implosion pendant.
When your drive is depleted sometimes the best thing
you CAN do is take a day off and get a recharge. As much as
those days ARE a necessity what if you’re on a deadline and
you have no choice BUT to go into the studio, then what do you
do?
In a previous episode of TWGRM I asked the question "Why are
you a glass artist?". This is an important question and I
asked it because the answer will inevitably be the fuel to get you
through those days where the studio just isn't a place that you
want to be...if you haven’t listened to it yet to back and listen
before going any further (Episode 156:Why, What, and How-3
questions to ask yourself regarding your desire to be a Glass
Artist)...it’ll get you up to speed.
Knowing your WHY, Your vision for
what fuels the fire, is the passion for the medium of glass
which will help you get through the days where you’d rather be
anywhere but the studio.
Trust me. There’s plenty of days I’ve wanted to call out
of work due to that worn out feeling of burnout and redundancy.
Especially when my job is not only as a production artist
but also communicating with hundreds of random guests though out
the course of a day which can really take a toll on my energy
levels. On Those days that I don’t wanna go to work or when I
simply am ready to go home when I'm already there, I think
about my WHY.
My WHY is the guests who have stopped in to see what I’m
doing. The guest who’s initial interest in what I’m doing all
started because they see a bright flame from a distance which draws
them into our shop. Once I engage them and a conversation begins
their initial curiosity turns into a deep interest of a new art
form that they might be experiencing for the first time. That
WHY is what keeps me going even when mentally and emotionally I am
not at my best.
So make sure you know your Why and write it down. Write
it BIG AND BOLD and place it somewhere, maybe in several places,
where you can see it and have that reminder for Why it is what you
do and hopefully you’ll be able to capture the focus and energy
needed to get you through that shift. If you can’t find the
motivation then maybe you need the day off but don’t take it off
completely. Take advantage of the day and re-evaluate your
WHY so next time you have a clear understanding and possibly
a new found motivating factor to get you through those days where
you feel you have nothing left to give.
It’s crucial as a Business Owner and Artist to find time away
from the studio to recharge but it’s also just as important to be
able to conquer the days where you have zero motivation and still
get into the shop and kick butt. These breakthrough days
develop markers in our brain that we can look back upon from even
further motivation when the WHY just isn’t cutting it....
ask questions, develop good habits and make self discipline a part
of your daily routine....
And this has been your WyzGuy Radio Minute
Happy Melting and Have a Wyz Day
Jason Michael