Without going into the gory details, I made a bit of an idiot of myself last night. While I’m generally cautious before expressing anger or consternation, my defenses were down and I let loose with some well chosen if off-target comments to a veritable stranger- and immediately regretted it. It was a rare occurrence, but I’m still cringing.
To save yourselves from post-tirade remorse, may I suggest that before you let loose you instead:
- Take a deep breath, walk away from your e-mail, shut the phone and think or reread before you react.
- If you do screw up and the screw up is manageable – immediately apologize and try to move on.
- If more than one person was involved in the situation, try to make amends to the person with whom you have the best relationship first.
- Realize that it’s inevitable that you will in fact mess up every now and again. Learn from the situation and try to move on gracefully.
Rachel, who wishes to spend less time with foot firmly in mouth (or keyboard)
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