How quickly do you forgive yourself for mistakes?

I recently was going through a rough patch for a couple of weeks. During that time, I inadvertently throw out all my marketing materials for my new book, THE HEART OF THE MATTER.

When I realized what I had done, I felt very disappointed in myself. How could I be so dumb? How could I just throw money out in the trash! These were the voices that began to loop in my head.

Now I knew staying in that negative place was not going to change anything. I also knew if I left it unchecked, there was a good chance that my disappointment could move into self-loathing.

So, instead of dancing with the disappointment, I looked for the lesson being presented. The lesson for me was to practice the same self-love that I had written about in my book.

So, I went inward and found compassion for myself. It wasn’t that I was dumb or that I could not trust myself. It was simply that my focus had been on dealing with my kitty’s declining health and doing everything I could to help her. My mental and emotional energy was focused on the crisis at hand, not on my daily routine.

We all are going to have times when we lose focus on our daily lives due to unexpected circumstances. And yes we may make some “dumb” mistakes. The question is how are you going to handle those mistakes?

Are you going to berate yourself, blame others, or scream at the universe?

Or are you going to find compassion for yourself and move out of fear and self-loathing and back into love?

I choose love.  

What do you choose?  

After all, it is always about choice.

Until the next time be the light the world needs and stay in love for all.

Joffre McClung is the author of two books, How Learning to Say Goodbye Taught Me How to Live ( Kirkus  Reviews “Heartfelt reflections on the lessons and strength to be gained from grief and loss….A thoughtful think piece.”) and The Heart of the Matter ( A Workbook and Guide to Finding Your Way Back to Self-Love) out now!