I blew it. I mean I really blew it. I was trying to show off to the cute new mare in the barn, and I ended up tripping over my own feet and landing with a splat in the mud. I was so embarrassed I thought I’d light up the sky a bright red. Good thing I’m covered in black hair or there’d have been a rosy glow all over the gentle hills of Vermont. I wanted to shrink my bulk down to mouse size and disappear in one of Indy’s rabbit’s holes.
Don’t you just hate it when you make a public mistake? It’s bad enough when you make a mistake that only you know about. When everyone else witnesses your shame, it makes it really hard to let it go.
So, what do you do?
First, as I always say, you have to honestly feel your feelings. Don’t hold back. Resisting emotions just give them more power. FEEL them. Hold on to them as long as you can. You’ll be surprised how fast they dissipate.
Then, you can do one of two things. The most powerful is finding the humor in the situation, and laughing about it. If you can make your faux pas into a funny story, it will take so much of the sting out of it! Not everyone can do this, however, so if the humor in the situation can’t be found, you just have to forgive yourself. Recognize that you did the best you could, and move on. Remember, you can’t change the past, but you can change how you hold it in your mind. Let it go…