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Cocktails, Mistakes & Lessons
Cocktails, Mistakes & Lessons
No, cocktails did not lead to the mistake. Cocktails reminded me that we all make mistakes. Allow me to explain….
I’ve made a new friend. The great thing about new friends, is they have a tendency to introduce you to new things, as well as new perspectives. And I appreciate both. New friend invites me to cocktail competition of which they are judging. I’m watching, intrigued, at everything going on. I’m asking questions, trying to understand everything that goes into all of this and what could you possibly be judging other than the taste of the drink itself. Oooooh, trust me, there were a lot more items that go into it than just the taste. So we talk afterward and he proceeds to enlighten me on mistakes that were made during what I thought were good presentations, and even better drinks. And while he is taking the time to point out mistakes and explain the elaborate judging criteria, I was reminded of my own mistake in recent weeks….
We all have been there at one point or another, wherein you’ve made a decision, that probably wasn’t the wisest decision ever made. Of which can be viewed as a mistake. It’s both. Trust me. A bad decision, is ultimately a mistake. The decision to make the mistake, wasn’t viewed as a mistake at the time, it was legitimately thought to be a resourceful idea, that’s what we sometimes do as property managers, be resourceful. Although….the err in my ways, if I had asked questions, I wouldn’t have had to of been resourceful at all. And no mistake would have been made. Pride is a cold and lonely mountain (lesson #1).
My resourcefulness was not well thought out, and turned out to be a mistake. For a number of different reasons. I’ve spent the last few weeks rehashing the entire thing in my brain, because as a Type A overachiever, making a mistake and disappointing anyone is not something I’m regularly familiar with. I’ve chastised myself more than needed probably. It’s incredibly hard for a perfectionist of my level to accept that. Accept what? That I’m not perfect. But here’s the thing, I’m not perfect, none of us are (lesson #2).
Then I stumbled across a quote and I started being able to breathe again. I stopped questioning my abilities. I took pause for a moment to realize that continuing to beat myself up was not going to make it go away. That in every mistake, there is a message, but if I continue berating myself, I will miss the message that comes from making the mistake, I’ll miss the lesson(s) to be learned. Everything happens for a reason, even our mistakes….but it’s what we choose to do with it, that makes us a better person. A better employee. A better team member. A better property manager. A better leader. Just better (lesson #3)
I wish I could tell you all that we will live our lives and do our jobs without mistakes, but sadly, that is not the case. And that’s okay. Just live your life with good intentions, with a kind heart, a wise mind and take those mistakes and prove to yourself that you are better because of it. And have a cocktail.
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