Graceful Mistakes

I know I make lots of mistakes. And its possible God is trying to teach me some major lessons lately including being more apologetic. I thought I was. I thought I was a nice person...

Anyways, lately little frustrations are just driving me mad. I get mad at myself and I end up taking out my frustrations on others and no one deserves that. In attempts for furthering myself and trying to make myself a better person (always a struggle), I wanted to try to learn some tips for being more graceful and apologetic when, lets be honest, you just screw up. It happens!

But, in the working world, making mistakes aren't as "OK" as with missing a dinner date with your Mom or forgetting to follow through with mailing a letter to Grandma (although that is never good either!) Mistakes in the professional world can have larger implications. You could lose hard earned trust by your superiors, lose a client, have stress with handling the situation, the situation can spiral out of control, you could get fired... it goes on and on. So learning to handle these mistakes, I believe, can HELP (but not totally alleviate) the pain of when those dreaded mistakes or "brain-farts" just happen.

So what do you do when the mistake is made?

First of all, don't jump to conclusions. When s*** hits the fan, the last thing you want to do is to assume anything, or send off a passive-aggressive email (How does one's tone convey?! I don't know, but I swear it does!)

When trying to get to the root of a problem or mistake that has happened, take time. Take time to breath, take time to think, and take time to collect yourself. I have sent too many e-mails in the heat of the moment that were wrong or accusational and they never end up pretty.

If you don't have the luxury of time, talk to co-workers or superiors in a calm and collected tone to try to get to the root of the problem.

Next, once the dust has settled, be honest with yourself about whether or not you are to blame. There is nothing more unattractive than someone making excuses, lying, or just generally trying to pass the buck.

If you are the one to blame, its time for you to apologize...

I'm sorry.

I apologize for my oversight.

That was my mistake.

THEN, very important...

Let me fix it.

What can I do to help.

What can I do to fix it?

THEN,

It won't happen again.

I have taken this step so it won't happen again...   you get the idea.


Own up to it. And be brave. At this point you are in the wrong and now is time for "punishment." Thankfully, lots of times, its harmless. Unless you work for a monster. But otherwise, most people understand that we're all human and we make mistakes from time to time. Just be sure not to make it a habit.

Personally, there is nothing I hate worse than making mistakes. I do have some perfectionistic tendencies and hold pretty high standards for myself. But poor memory, mis-reading, dumb mistakes, still (more often than I'd like) just happen. Pretty often, you have no one else to blame but yourself. But at the same time, you can't beat yourself up. The best step is to apologize, fix it, and move on with your life.