TODAY I LEARNED A LESSON by Pennie Hunt

​“Are you always this positive?”
This is the number one question I get asked when people meet me in person.
My answer is a very quick, No!
 
I write and speak about happiness, love and seeing the positive side of life. I also write and speak about grief, loss and sadness. We all have a stew of emotions that we carry around. Yes, I do my best to see the good side of everything and I encourage others to do the same, but there are moments when I slip. When I do, my husband will say, “That wasn’t very Pennie-Hunt-dot-com-like” – referring to my website which is packed with my uplifting quotes and writings.

Yesterday was one of those days when my action was not very Pennie-Hunt-dot-com-like.

This week I finished my 3rd book and sent it off to my publisher. After many months in the mental creation and writing process, I was ecstatic to be handing it over. That ecstasy was fleeting as I quickly moved into the reality of knowing it was not really finished. Now it is a process of back and forth with my editor, proofreader, and layout designer. All these steps rattle a different set of my nerves.

My lovely project manager, Dana, keeps these moving pieces flowing. She has been playing middle person between me and the designer for weeks to create the vision I had in my mind for the book cover. Yesterday I opened an email containing what I thought would be the final version, only to find it had not been tweaked correctly according to my last requests.

Hurriedly I sent back an email reiterating the last directions and expressing my concerns. When I received her response, it was filled with apologetic comments. I was a bit confused until I reread the email I had sent. It was strong. It sounded grumpy. It was definitely NOT Pennie-Hunt-dot-com-like! I quickly realized why I received the over-apologetic email response.

I wanted to crawl under the covers and begin the day again. I wanted to take back the email. All the positivity I promote and encourage others to do was instantly sucked from my body. I had a vision of how my email must have hit her, how it must have ruined her day. I felt like a failure.

I quickly sent her an email saying I was sorry about the way my email must have come across to her and blamed it on the inhumaneness of communicating through technology. Then I sent her a second email apologizing again.

Past lessons that I have written about came pouring through my head. I began beating myself up with my own comments like- you can’t take back words; words hold power; be kind. And yes, the one that hits me like a dagger… “That wasn’t very Pennie-Hunt-dot-com-like!

My mind was in rare form letting the negative self-talk jab me with punch after punch. Then my heart kicked in. It pushed back by reminding me that I am human and that I make mistakes. The punching from my mind and the pushback from my heart continued most of the day. It takes time for the heart to be strong enough to squelch the power of the mind.

As with most of my life lessons, this one was a hard one. As much as we all try, none of us are perfect. When we slip, we should apologize and fix what we can. Then see the opportunity to practice patience, understanding, and acceptance of ourselves. Forgive the humanness in ourselves and when you are on the receiving end of someone’s bad day, frustration, confusion, or anger, offer them the same.  

Today is a new day. I know I will never be perfect, but today I plan to be a little better than the person that I was yesterday.

The next time I am asked, “Are you always this positive?”
My answer will be a very quick, “No! I try, but I’m not perfect and still have many lessons to learn.”
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                                                    Pennie Life Lesson:
                                       Today, don’t try to be perfect,
             just try to be a little better than the person you were yesterday.
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 PennieHunt@gmail.com. 
                                                Thank you!  ​
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                                          Copyright © 2013-2022 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
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