Kudos shmudos

When clients breathe down your neck on a daily basis, it is easy to doubt whether you are still doing a good job. If you missed an issue or a deadline, you question your efficiency. If you made a wrong assumption and provided advice on that basis, you question your competence. If you spoke candidly and the client took offense, you question your eloquence. If you had to explain yourself, you question your worth.

They say, "practice makes perfect" or "practice builds confidence," but does it really? When every client has a different expectation, can you really rely on your experience? When each matter is highly nuanced, do you allude to what is familiar or conventional? When a person says, "I eat this for breakfast" or "I can do this with my eyes closed," I suspect those are just motivational self-talk. No one really believes that pompous prick.

On those rare occasions when someone expresses his/her appreciation for what I do, I find it hard to accept the praise or recognition. I dismiss it by saying, "I was just doing my job." Perhaps I am just so used to receiving complaints that a "thank you" to me is nothing more than a closing spiel.