Your Daily Focus: Contests
In every contest there is an opportunity to create a win-win situation.
I am currently struggling in the area of judgment. I have been training myself for years now in the areas of appreciation and acceptance, and of course what goes along with that is non-judgment.
I am currently consulting on a wonderful new medical clinic specializing in the care of people with knee arthritis causing pain and limited function. We are at the stage of designing a logo, and we chose to run a logo design contest through 99designs.com. Here’s where the challenge is for me. The contest will work best if I pass judgment constantly on the new designs coming it. I am recommended to give each logo entry a score and write comments about what I like and don’t like.
I have been so successful in programming my mind to appreciation, I can’t find a way to criticize or pass negative judgment on the entries that don’t appeal to me. I am experimenting with phrases like “this is a wonderful design, but my preference is more…” and “thank you, I love your design: please see number 12 and 5 for examples of logos I love even more.”
The more I think of it, the more sad I become imagining that there will be so many losers in this contest. I am always looking for the win-win situation. I need to find words that are more pleasing to me like, “each contestant is pleased to be a part of this contest,” and “each contestant will learn from the experience valuable lessons to carry forward to create more success in their future,” and “each designer knows fully the rules and chooses willingly to be a part of this,” and “these designers love the opportunity to submit a design on a real project.”
I am going to go back to the logo contest now and tell a story to myself that pleases me and turns this into a win-win situation. That will give this contest the best chance to work the way it is designed.
I am thankful for the opportunity for personal growth through this little “thought” challenge.
Oh, boy, next I have to figure out if I can attend my friend Ami Ahuja’s competition in the Mrs. Wisconsin Pageant next weekend. Got any ideas to help me spin that one into a win-win?
HI Dr. Rick,
Maybe this will help you get through the contest part.
I’m a graphic designer and have been doing it since my early 20′s.
Being seasoned in the field, I’ve come to realize that art and a lot
of anything creative gets judged “subjectively” and not having
one’s design selected is not the end of the world. It’s on to the next.
It’s just like an email you sent recently that everyone can take one
story or painting or even a song and have a hundred different interpretations.
Same holds true in a beauty contest. Everyone’s idea of TRUE beauty is
going to be different.
For AMI, Do not start out with a negative (what will you do if she loses) rather just identify the things that are additional, for example (see will meet new people from all over the State), she will gain self-confidence from the experience, She will gain valuable experiences that she can use for references on her next venure. By listing all the things she will gain, should help her feel great about the experience regardless of her placing and will also help her have the confidence she will find most helpful.
Dear Dr. Rick,
Without making judgements, one could not get through the day.
Perhaps defining and distinguishing judgements from being judgemental may help. For me, it helps to think of ‘judgement’ as discernment or decisions based on practicality or appropriateness. For example, you need to haul water. You have the choice of a bottle, a bucket, or a sieve. Deciding NOT to use the sieve is a decision/judgement that you probably won’t feel conflict in making.
If the ‘contest’ explains, defines what it is you seek in a logo and what you wish to avoid, and a submission misses the mark, a compassionate critique of both the ON- and OFF- target components of submission would help guide the submitter closer to the mark. Practice for all in the process. Perhaps when something doesn’t appeal for what you recognize as purely subjective reasons, recognize that, and decide whether or how to share it openly.
A ‘contest’ in and of itself is a ‘win-lose’ situation if the only ‘win’ is the chosen entry. We all learn something in every endeavor (if we’re paying attention.)
If there were room for collaboration, brainstorming, some really wonderful creative projects can emerge from a group, and that is a win-win scenario you may be looking for.