OMG, have you ever heard of pixel peeping?

My husband was sharing a story recently and mentioned this term, pixel peeping. 

The brakes in my head stopped his words dead in their tracks.

I mean, he continued talking but as soon as I heard that phrase, I heard nothing else he was saying. 

It was a totally new term to me. One I thought was clever and funny and I had to figure out what it meant. 

So I interrupted his story. 

This is the point in my story that I tell you I have a terrible habit of interrupting my husband’s stories. Really, it’s a problem. 

I don’t usually do this with anyone else. 

But with him, I interrupt all the time to ask questions, make a joke, try to finish his sentence and guess outloud what happened next. 

Again, it’s a problem. 

So when I did it this time around, he just sighed and indulged me. (Thanks, hun!)

Turns out, pixel peeping is exactly what I thought it was: the action of viewing an image at greater than 100% in order to examine pixels in micro detail, supposedly with the intent of looking for pixel level defects. 

I’ll add – defects that no one else would see or notice.

After laughing for a bit, I thought “OMG, so many business owners do this in their own businesses.”

And, it’s a problem. 

Do you obsess over the one person who unsubscribed from your email list this week while ignoring the eight new people in your community?

Do you hop into your support inbox and check all the replies your assistant sent today just in case she didn’t respond exactly as you would have?

Do you fret about one Instagram post going unnoticed and unliked?

Do you think that if the font for the headline on your homepage was one point size larger clients would finally find you?

Do you lose sleep over a single typo in your recent blog post?

Do you go back and forth over the perfect scheduling software to use because what if you choose wrong?

Do you get annoyed when the social media graphic your team put together had the quote a smidge too far to the left?

Do you believe the reason people aren’t finding you online is because you choose Teapot Blue instead of Quilt Blue as your secondary brand color?  

Do any of those above sound familiar? It’s okay, we’re all friends here. No judging, just love and support. 

First, just notice that you’re zooming way far into your business. Like forest for the trees level of proximity.

Next, ask yourself how this level of gnat’s ass detail is helping you. Really, what needle is your spy work moving? Will anyone but you even be able to notice?

Then, stop. 

It might sound almost too easy. I don’t mean to end the practice and go cold turkey. You won’t be able to. It’s a habit you’ve built up to counteract the fear you feel about making BIG decisions and taking BOLD actions.

What I actually mean is to become aware of when it’s popping up and then stop. Each and every time. 

It’s a muscle you’ll need to train. And like any muscle, it takes continually working on it to get better and stronger and faster to call yourself out. 

Even today, I find myself repeatedly worrying about the typo in my newsletter or why no one liked a recent Facebook post. 

I catch myself. 

I remember that I’m pixel peeping (which also brings a smile to my face just thinking of the term).

And then I move right along to the bigger, bolder actions that will truly shape my business journey. 

Now it’s your turn – are you a pixel peeper? 

Share how pixel peeping shows up for you below – I can’t wait to hear from you.

 

Photo by Concha Mayo on Unsplash