Humble

You know when you get to the point that you think you've got everything figured out? You begin to get a little cocky about yourself, think that you know it all and have got it under control? It's easy put yourself on a pedestal. Everyone is guilty of it at one point or another. Luckily for me I have a history in horseback riding which I believe is one of the most humbling sports around. Anytime I get a big head about myself I've got a 1500 pound animal that quickly reminds me that there are bigger, more powerful, things out there besides me. For example last week I was doing a trial ride on my trainers horse Octivian. Things were going pretty well and we started jumping around. This is where I made the mistake of letting my guard down because I thought I was in complete control. The next thing I knew I was face first into the ground covered in dirt and rubble. I'm not saying having confidence in your abilities or being proud of your skill sets is a bad thing. I'm just saying it becomes a bad thing if you let it give you a big head!

I'm learning very quickly in the work place that the act of being able to humble yourself to others thoughts and opinions is very important, especially when you're working in groups on a project for a client. Just the other day I sat in on a meeting about the design of a website that CH&B created that is set to be launched soon for a client.  Different people have each taken up different parts of the website to work on. The designers created the actual layout and design of the website while others were in charge of the copy. The point is that I'm sure there were a lot of ideas thrown around about the design and what the site should say. With everybody certified in their craft whos to say whos idea was better to use? I can't answer that question as I wasn't there for the inital creation of the website, although I did sit through an 1.5 hour meeting where we debated back and forth things that needed to be changed. If the majority of the room wanted to change something that's what happened regardless if the deisgner or anybody else didn't like the suggestion.  The goal is to create a website that will benefit the client, not satisfy the creative desire of one member of the team.

There is always something new to learn from each other. Sometimes your idea will be great, sometimes somebody elses will be better. Have pride in your work but also keep an open mind and humble yourself to others.