Any of my readers could tell you that I send out an issue of my Short & Sweet (which includes a preview to my latest blog post) EVERY SINGLE Wednesday at 10 AM EST.
Without fail.
Consistency has always been at the heart of everything I do in my business and with my clients. I feel it’s what makes me dependable and trustworthy – and is one of the main reasons why the people I’ve worked with continue to refer me to new clients year in and year out.
So then, you can imagine my initial reaction when last Wednesday at a little after 10 AM EST, a frequent reader emailed me and wrote, “Is something wrong – I didn’t receive your Short & Sweet today!”
Whoops.
I had been out of town for the last week and a half, and somewhere in the midst of all the activity, had missed a week of writing my (ahem) weekly blog and scheduling my Short & Sweet to go out to my subscribers.
I observed my own reaction, which went something like this:
1) Complete and total freak out. Should I drop everything I’m doing and write an issue this second, getting it out as fast as humanly possible?
2) Hmmm, I’d rather not pull my hair out right now. I think I will instantly forgive myself for this and simply pick back up next week.
And just like that, I forgave myself for my mistake and moved on with life.
What a joy it was!
I think we all could do with a little instant self-forgiveness now and again, wouldn’t you agree?
Try to think of a mistake you made recently. See if you can remember what you went through, physically and mentally, after you realized you’d made a mistake. It probably involved suffering in some way or another: sweating, anxiety, an elevated heart rate, or at the very least a whole lot of negative self-talk.
Now try to imagine how it would have felt different if you could have instantly forgiven yourself for the mistake you made.
(Because, hey, we are all hopelessly flawed when it comes down to it because we’re not computers – we’re human beings – and THANK goodness for that!)
Undoubtedly it would have felt infinitely better to avoid the suffering and instead cut to the chase of what needed to be done to rectify the situation (i.e. emailing your subscribers to apologize, writing to your client to apologize, etc.).
Whatever mistakes you’ve made in the past and whatever ones you will make in the future, I’m here to say: It’s OK. Your mistakes DO NOT define you. They make you human.
So what do you say, will you join me? Will you try to instantly forgive yourself for the next mistake you make?
Give it a try, and let me know how it goes 🙂
