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What to do when you mess up

I messed up this week. I guess we all do it once in a while. And I just did. I'm posting the comment here so that ... just to be clear ... you get that I get that in the end, we're all just human.

Someone in my world made a careless mistake. Was it intentionally wasteful and disrespectful? Honestly, I don't know. What I do know is it looked that way to me at the time. And these are, unfortunately, two very sensitive issues for me. The careless actions were essentially "against" nearly everything that I'm "for."

How did I respond?

I lost my temper. Spoke in a harsh and accusatory tone to the person. To be honest, I cannot ever recall being quite that angry. Ever.

And then ... later on ... I realized that the careless actions must have triggered something "extra" on my end. Although the person's actions were indeed out of line, so was my reaction. Further, I took it as though my perception was accurate, which may or may not have been the case, and reacted before I asked questions.

Basically, I was caught off-guard by something that, despite my years of training, I had not identified in the past and was not prepared for.

I recognized that my reaction was excessive.

And then what did I do next?

I apologized for losing my temper. In a timely manner.

I'm still not too thrilled with the person's actions. I had hoped for a lot more in the situation that appears to be turning out. But I also know there would have been better ways to handle things than the automatic emotional response that came forward at the time.

What to do when you mess up?

Acknowledge it and apologize. It may not exactly make things rosy again, but it is a step in the right direction.

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Elizabeth Eckert, Healthy Living & Wellness Coach

Elizabeth Eckert, PhD

I enjoy observing human nature and helping people be healthy. I'm author of Word Cures and creator of the WordCures.com healthy living website. (more)

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Note: The information and ideas offered here are personal opinions of a general nature. No opinion posted here constitutes medical advice, either general or personal. If you have a health concern, please consult with your medical doctor and follow his or her advice. The author disclaims responsibility for any misuse or misinterpretation of any opinion posted here.

(c) 2006-09 Elizabeth Eckert


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