Life doesn’t always go to plan. Especially when your life, your work, and your creative endeavours start to all mesh into one like it does for so many creative folk, somedays can be a little more intense than others. While from the outside many of us can seem calm, collected, and like we have everything together, behind the scenes probably tells a different story.

Sometimes we just have to freak out a little bit. The other week I was trying to balance my client workload, a digital product launch, this blog, ALO, and a bad bout of ill health in the balance too. I don’t think I slept properly for a fortnight and there were days when I honestly thought I just wasn’t going to make it through without completely losing my mind. Without a doubt, I freaked out. When everything is going to plan, everything can feel pretty manageable. But when one thing - such as an unexpected piece of work, or a health or life situation - comes into play that we didn’t expect, it can really shake us and leave us feeling a little out of control and overwhelmed.

I used to think that it wasn’t okay to freak out. All of the people I admire seem to have their entire business, life, and side projects in balance, and I put this ridiculous pressure on myself to have it all in balance too. But honest conversations with creative friends has reminded me that I’m not alone in this - we all freak out from time to time. Sometimes there’s not even any clear rhyme or reason for it, and that’s a-okay too.

If I’ve learned anything so far though, it’s this - it is okay to freak out sometimes, but if you’re committed to making big things happen, you still have to get back to work. So take an afternoon, or a day if you need it, or even just twenty minutes to yourself, and take a deep breath and embrace a little peace and quiet. Know that you can do this, that it won’t always be this intense, and that freaking out doesn’t make you incapable or unable to do big, exciting, and beautiful things with your work and your life.

Here’s to freaking out, and doing the work anyway.

Sometimes It’s Okay To Freak Out