How many times have you said or done something that you wished you could take back or change?
I remember standing in front of a large audience at a conference and being so nervous. It was in the middle of the conference hall and not in a private room which is where all of my other speeches had been. There were no chairs for people to sit on. It was like speaking in the middle of the shopping mall and everyone is wandering around. People were standing in front of the stage to watch, and others were coming and going or walking by. I was used to everyone coming into a room and sitting down to listen. This was a very different experience.
My speech was intended to give visibility for the great work that my team had done and to share the information with everyone at the conference. I know I didn’t say everything perfectly and I am sure that I spoke too fast which can happen when I get nervous. But I got through it and I learned how to focus even when there are all kinds of distractions happening. What I shared with the audience still helped them learn and they had no idea what was happening to me on the inside. It was uncomfortable, but it taught me how to roll with the situation no matter what happens…as they say, the show must go on!
When I think about that situation, I remembered this quote by Anonymous, “Don’t regret anything you do, because, in the end, it makes you who you are.”
Every situation that we go through teaches us what need to prepare for the next experience we will have. We become stronger and more resilient. When things happen, we have a choice. How can we avoid self blame and regret so we can leverage the experience for learning and growing instead?
Have you had a situation where things didn’t go as planned and the spotlight was on you? How did you handle it? What did you do? What lessons did you learn from it?