Every blog is a work in progress–a public one. Every legitimate blogger I know is human. Humans make mistakes. I’m better at making mistakes than a lot of humans. Making mistakes in public is never fun, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the world either.
What do you do when you make a mistake–a very public one? Big or little, public or private, mistakes have a way of stealing our balance, here are some ways of recovering that balance and moving on.
- Realize that you aren’t a mistake just because you made one.
- If it’s fixable, fix it. Otherwise it will nag you. It will always be there.
- Step back, be dispassionate, and decide if you need to do more. How important is it? Is anyone else affected by your mistake? Learn to recognize what’s a little thing that no one cares about.
- If it’s something that involves others, acknowledge it. Find the opportunity in the error and get things moving forward again.
- Know that most people are generous, if you’re upfront with them.
Here’s an object lesson:
Yesterday I posted two articles that had errors in them. I had the wrong glasses on, and my proofreader friend didn’t get the chance to look at them. I am sorry that I let those get to you that way. They are fixed now.
I wrote an apology to Yaro, letting him know his blog has the “r” back in its name. He was most gracious in his reply. I think we’re going to be friends.
I take some comfort in the fact that the nature of this blog made this event something worth posting about.
–ME “Liz” Strauss, who is now cleaning her glasses every hour.
