How many of us have opened our mouths and stupid
fell out. It wasn't intentional, and it is possible we may not have recognized
it at the time, but it just happens. It happens to me from time to time, and it
happened just a day or two ago.
I was calling a relatively new client long
distance, and I got his voice mail, so I left a message and said something at
the end like, '. . . and if you have a mind to, give me a call.' It wasn't flip,
it was stupid. It wasn't a good thing to say, and as soon as I hang up, I knew
it was stupid to say that. I can only think that I had stuff on my mind that
shouldn't have been there and I let that stuff affect my communication
with someone who is not only a client but has become a friend.
Then, I did the second stupid thing: I didn't call
back immediately and change the tone of that ending. I let it go and went on to
the next thing. What is that quote above? Learning how to learn
and change?
So, naturally, he calls back and is concerned about
my message, and I told him then that as soon as I hung up I knew it was not cool
and apologized.
As they say, stuff happens. But, the good news is
that I learned from this silly slip. I will endeavor to be more in the moment
and less thinking about other things and pay attention and be the encourager and
uplifter that I profess to be. I will lay my petty annoyances down and focus on
who I'm calling and why. I am learning every single day, and that day was a red
letter day of learning for me. And, just in case, if it happens again, I'll
immediately call back and repeal the previous message and leave one that is more
appropriate!
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