So. . . I recently made a mistake that I really struggled with. I made a commitment to someone, and later realized that I couldn’t see it through. This was a project that needed to be done for a large event, and even though I wasn’t completely educated on it, I was sure that with some research and my current knowledge it would be a no-brainer. Well, my friends, I was wrong! To be transparent, boy oh boy did I feel like shit! On top of feeling like an asshole for over committing myself to this project, I then had to call this lady and explain the situation.
As you can imagine she was not happy about this because there was a tight deadline for completion. I knew no matter how many times I apologized and gave alternate solutions it wouldn’t fix the disappointment that she felt because part of the project wouldn’t be done in time.
Guess what, I cried out of frustration because I couldn’t believe I allowed myself to make a mistake like this. I was so upset and just so disappointed in myself. When I finally was able to stop myself from spiraling into the black hole of shame, I was able to come up with three different potential solutions. One of the alternate solutions was referring her to someone else that ensured they could do the project. Now you are probably thinking “why the hell would you offer to pass a great opportunity off to someone else?” and the answer is simple…why not?
I tell you all of this to get to the simple point of, as women, mothers, entrepreneurs, humans, we don’t give ourselves enough grace. We don’t stop and accept the opportunities that are right in front of us because we are so busy tearing our own selves down! In this situation with my project I FAILED, let me say that again…I FAILED. More importantly I acknowledged that I made a mistake, and because of my mistake it affected someone else, and I acknowledged that as well. After stopping my self-created tornado of shame, I thought about how I wanted to express myself to this lady and did exactly that by owning the fact that I over promised something, acknowledged how she felt AND THEN APOLOGIZED. It is completely ok and totally normal to apologize when you are wrong. It is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength, growth, and courage.
Mistakes Happen, own your shit and be graceful while doing it. When we can stop and take a step back to evaluate ourselves in any situation, we give ourselves the opportunity to grow, to learn and be better no matter how shitty the situation was or how amazing it turned out. That is the beauty of grace, it gives you power. So, no matter what is going on, remember to be graceful with yourself, it’s ok to make mistakes. Every mistake we make is the universe giving us the opportunity to learn a new skill set for what’s next to come. Go get a snack…it’s going to be okay!
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