How to Stop Awfulizing

Your dream client hasn’t called you back. Up until now, the whole process has been smooth sailing. Now, nothing but darkness. You’re worried. Something’s gone wrong. They’re not calling back. They’ve decided not to move forward with you. Or worse, they’ve chosen your competitor. You feel that certain sense of dread in the pit of your stomach.

Or perhaps none of this is true. Your dream client is busy doing their job. They have every intention of moving forward with you, but circumstances beyond their control have changed the demands on your dream client’s time.

Try this one. You made it to the end of your dream client’s buying process. They pushed back on pricing. Hard. You’re nervous. Every fiber of your being is telling you that you have to drop the price if you want their business. But you decide to do the right thing and push back, justifying your price and explaining to your dream client the risk in their underinvesting. They hear you, but you’re not sure your words resonated with them. They’re deeply into cost containment. You’ve lost. You know it.

Or perhaps you’re awfulizing again. Instead of losing the opportunity, you’ve gained your dream client’s trust and their respect by justifying the fact that you are trying to create value and by being a grown up about their investment. Sure, your dream client is going to ask you again to do something, but you aren’t out of the hunt at all.

Stop hallucinating that you can read minds or see into the future. It takes a certain arrogance to believe that because your dream client hasn’t called back that they are spending their time thinking about you. Mostly, they’re not thinking about you—you aren’t on their mind one tenth of time they’re on your mind.

Stop assuming the worse. You have no idea how things will end, let alone that they will end badly for you. If things have gone well up until now, you aren’t likely to lose an opportunity without some opportunity to course correct (unless of course you aren’t really in front of the deal to begin with). Instead, take the action necessary to ensure you do everything in your power to help your dream client choose you (something you won’t do if you are racked with fear).

Stop awfulizing. It doesn’t do anything to help you. And it fills you with the fear that keeps you from getting the right things done.