UPDATE 10/21/16: This was originally the 1st post in a 30 posts in 30 days challenge (hence the title) but this is one of the only ones that really stood the test of time!
Dear reader, here I was this morning, thinking about what I could write about, when a topic dropped into my lap. For whatever reason, I happened to take a look at one of the new business cards I just received in the mail Saturday, and there it was…A TYPO!!!! On these brand new cards!!! And it wasn’t just any typo–it was my PHONE NUMBER!!! AAAHHHH!!!!
Instantly, I went into self-flagellation mode. Nothing could have been worse than this idiotic mistake–I mean, how can I start my business if my phone number is incorrect on the dang card? (Ironically, I realized that, over the past few days, I had actually been worrying that maybe I had typed the wrong phone number, but on a different advertisement altogether. Darn these self-fulfilling prophecies!) After some consolation from my husband and a friend (who was the only one besides me to have any of the accursed cards), I was able to do some tapping (EFT, if you are unaware, is amazing) and find some perspective and, lo, even something to write about.
Two things came to mind: 1)The over-excitement of stress (and there are no end of things, it seems to be stressed about these days) can often lead us to make mistakes, both big and small. Likely, they will be small, but still causing no end of teeth-gnashing and beating ourselves up and calling ourselves names, because we really are our own worst critics. Which leads me to 2) The need for self-compassion. This morning, before all this even happened, I had pulled up this great post on gratitude: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5921/10-Gratitude-Principles-to-Live-By.html. I hadn’t gotten a chance to look at it before my little business card freakout, but it definitely helped put things in perspective afterwards. Yes, I felt idiotic in the moment, but, let’s face it, in 100 years (heck, even in 100 days) this mistake will have been forgotten (although here I am, immortalizing it on the Internet, so good work, me!). I caught it before I gave out all the cards; next time I’ll be more aware, and thank goodness for white out!
In conclusion, let’s all try to cultivate more compassion for ourselves. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Be grateful for what is going right. And proofread, proofread, proofread!