Insecurity is rampant!

I have met many types of people in my line of work. There are the back stabbing bastards, the lying cowards, the manipulating ass wipes, the "it's not my fault" ass suckers... but there are ones that shine above the rest. Insecure people. Damn. Who moved the rock, honestly? Talk about sad people.

Look guys. Life is unstable. In love, friendship, work and other stuff you have to always remind yourself to be extremely careful. But that doesn't mean that you can live your life expecting the worst. By being extremely insecure, you show the worst part of you. Not only that, you make life for the people around you, basically, shit on a stick. Why? Just look around at your office.

There is always someone near that works with the fear of getting fired. Instead of working by giving their 100% and giving their best shot, they are always wondering what is going on, who will be put to blame for a mistake, who will be admonished for this or that... In this economy (at least where I live), companies are firing and hiring people, left and right. It is the law of the land. People sometimes forget that their jobs are not 100% secure... well, at least if you are the CEO's little baby girl/boy you are welcome to think it is. But for the rest of us normal people, we don't have our parents at our jobs. So, trust me, you CAN get fired. I mean, jeez. You can even be the CEO of a huge company for many years, that doesn't mean that some other dude can buy it and fire your ass!

During the past few weeks I have had the pleasure of working under a lot of stress. Not caused by my work. I have always been dead sure of what I do and what I show in a presentation. In my line of work, if you are not 100% comfortable with your work, doubt is the one thing that can kill an ad campaign or even worst, your career. They say dogs can smell fear? So do clients. If you stand there, and you are working at less that what you can give, they can smell it from a mile away.

No, my stress was caused because I was dealing with one specific person who liked to call every 15 minutes, making some huge hypotheticals about my future, and his. Let me give you an example: Call at 10:30 a.m.

Hey... I don't know... are you sure of what you are presenting?

Yes.

Well, what if they don't like it?

Well, I did my best.

But what if they decide to take away your account?

Um... what do you mean?

Well, it can happen. Man, you know... I'm not even sure that I will have my job... they are making some changes and... I feel left out...

Let me call you later, I have stuff to do.

This is the best part. I started to worry. The one thing I have never, ever, done in my life when it is regarding my work. I thought... Is the campaign good enough? Am I doing the best I can? What if... what if...

Fuck the what if's! I had fallen for his insecurity and it had rubbed off on me. Good thing I got my senses back and looked at my line of work, at the history of my achievements with this particular client and thought: yes, I am doing my best, and yes, I am showing it this week. If they choose to switch accounts, well, Bobby Brown said it perfectly: it's their prerrogative. I cannot stop them. I can only stand by what I did and hope that they recognize good work when they see it.

As I stood there, days later, I was not even a slight nervous. I knew that the work was flawless, because we had worked at it with passion, thought it from all possible angles, and delivered a truly great campaign. The ones that can make you keep your account. Even if they said something along the lines of thanks but no thanks, I was sure that the work was great. They bought it.

We have insecure people all around us. It can be our bosses, our friends, even in our relationships. By letting their insecurities rub off on us, we are letting them make our lifes unstable. No way. There is nothing certain in life, only death. Living in fear is not a healthy way of living. Not only for you, but for others as well. The next time someone starts yapping about hypotheticals, do yourself a favor. Give them the hypothetical of the middle finger in their faces. Don't buy their bullshit. If you give your best, that is all you need. Don't let others ruin your happy go lucky day because they don't have any self esteem.

In work? There are two certain things. Either you switch jobs or the job switches you. Deal with it. I sure do.