INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS, change your frame of reference

After my seventh unanswered pitch, I started to spiral.​ Maybe I was asking too much.​

Maybe the timing was wrong.​ Maybe I wasn’t as good as I thought.

Every “no” felt heavier than the last.​ Like I was stacking failures on my back.​ Counting up.​ Dragging them with me.

Until I heard someone say:​ “What if you stopped counting up...​ and started counting down?”

What if you tell yourself:​ You only need 20 rejections before you get a yes.​ Now every “no” becomes progress.​ A step closer. A box checked. A countdown.

You go from “I’ve failed 7 times”​ to “Only 13 more until it hits.”

It sounds small, but that shift changed everything.

Same outcome.​ Different frame.​ Lighter load.

So if you’re getting worn out by the weight of no,​ try counting the other way.

Your yes might already be on the clock.

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