Before I started writing this blog, while I was thinking about the personal and professional, I re-read every single entry for 2022. I noticed that increasingly my blogs were based on things that mattered to me personally rather than professionally. Does this matter? I had to ask myself that question, and I haven’t come up with a clear answer.
Yes and No
From the point of view that people don’t in fact buy goods or service, they buy relationships, I guess the answer is that talking personally is a strength, something that I can use to get people to trust me, and therefore hopefully work with me. However, if I express an opinion you don’t agree with, you might be put off using our services.
On the other hand, there is a fine line between showing what you are passionate about and airing your dirty laundry in public. I think I have always been on the right side of that line in these blogs, but I know plenty of people who don’t pull it off. I’ve also been known to lose my rag on Twitter, and consistently it blows up in my face, damaging my image and reputation. So, I’ve learned to step away from social media in times of emotional turmoil.
When I look back over the last year, I can see it has been a very successful year for CoomberSewell Enterprises professionally. Personally however, the year was much more of a roller coaster, with the early half of the year being mainly “Weee, wa-hey!” and the latter half being rather more “bleugh”. That is obvious in the fact that this is my first blog since August. When life is hard, the urge to blog desserts me.
Guarding against the slumps
So, how can those of us who have a public face mitigate against the low times?
As I’ve already mentioned, I think social media, however immediate it feels on the receiving end, is not something any of us should be doing in the moment. When you look at the videos posted by successful vloggers, even those who have been going for years, however delicate the subject, you get the idea that the content is carefully curated and edited. They control their reputation, and you don’t achieve that by going off half-cocked.
The other thing is not to shoot all your arrows at once. When things are going well, it’s worth creating a bank of material so that you can release it regularly. Then, when you don’t have the emotional energy to find something new to say, personal or professional, it’s already waiting for you. This is a lesson I need to learn, not only because it helps with keeping your profile in the game, but because re-reading your own work when you are feeling down can be great for raising the spirits.
As I sat down to write this, I was not feeling my best, laden with a cold (please let it only be a cold), tired after a long term and a bit depressed about how uncertain life has been recently. But it turns out we have had a corking time at points this year, whether it is celebrating the love of friends, travelling abroad or seeing fantastic shows.
So, by all means make your personal part of your professional, especially when it includes things you are passionate about, but make sure you do it on your terms!