A few weeks ago, I hosted a free online webinar, teaching people some great Mac tips and shortcuts. I had sent out a series of emails beforehand, reminding the people who had signed up when to attend.
One email went out too soon, making it seem like the webinar had already happened.
Because, instead of scheduling it to be sent at 4 pm, after the webinar, it went out at 4 am.
It was a simple mistake.
With minimal consequences.
Sure, a few people were confused, but they emailed me and I explained everything.
You see, when you’re in business, and you’re dealing with automated emails and programs and technology, mistakes are bound to happen.
The question is, what do you do about it?
Do you react, finding blame, spiraling into panic and anxiety and failure?
Or do you take a breath and respond by finding a solution, a way to remedy the situation, maybe even with some humor?
I could have gotten all flustered and bent out of shape about the error.
But instead, I saw it as an opportunity to be transparent.
So I sent out another email and shared what had happened, figuring people would understand, and also be reminded that we all make mistakes. And that it’s OK.
Mistakes happen.
Sure, they can be inconvenient, even costly, sometimes. But if we think we’re never going to slip up, we’re fooling ourselves. And each other.
Mistakes offer us ways to grow and do-over. Mistakes remind us that it’s good to have a backup plan.
Mistakes give us a chance to look at what we are really afraid of.
We’re not afraid of imperfection. We’re afraid of what people might think of us because we made a mistake.
But if we remember that we all make mistakes, perhaps we can respond first, with compassion.
So the next time something doesn’t go quite the way you intended, or you choose a.m. instead of p.m., take a breath and remember, we all make mistakes.
taday’s article reminded me of the old saying “don’t get emotionally involved in unemotional problems”.
Shonda, That is a great saying to keep in mind!