Time to read: Less than one minute. Time to clean up your mess? Depends on the size.
Let's just say that the other day, I wasn't my best. I don't know why, but there's something about the vet that pokes my buttons. It's not the actual vet, it's the processes at the vet. It's weird because I'm usually so easy... but I digress. That's not the point.
I became irritated and the poor receptionist who was trying to help me took the brunt. It wasn't my finest hour, and my response was very human. We humans mess up. And when we do, we humans have a responsibility to clean it up.
There are three reasons to clean up your messes - big and small.
- It's the right thing to do, especially when you've hurt someone. Cleaning up your messes matters for other people.
- Lingering messes are sticky and the guilt / sadness / justification / defensiveness (choose your poison) sticks to you. Cleaning up your messes matters for you.
- The energy you put into the world matters so let that energy be honest and true, even when it's hard. Cleaning up your messes matters to our world.
I called the receptionist and apologized. I was nervous. And the 2 minutes it took to take responsibility and be forgiven made all the difference for both of us.
What mess is sticking to you and what can you do today to clean it up?
Email me here if you'd like to consider offering the 90-Minute Return to the Office live event with me and Anne. It's the easiest path to avoiding conflict and messes that need to be cleaned up.