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Was there ever a moment in your life when you didn’t know something, you thought you could figure it out, so you tried and flopped, and felt so incredibly embarrassed you didn’t know what to do next?

This is a common feeling I have inside of me. Always wanting to figure out a problem on my own, thinking I can do it, stressing about it, and trying when all I had to do was ask.

It is kind of funny, because as I watch my kids, I see my daughter at three going through some of the same feelings. I give her a task, like putting on her shoes, or picking up her toys, and she runs off eager to do it, “all by myself.” Minutes later, I check in on her and I find her sitting on the floor, without her shoes, or her toys, looking up at me with big green eyes and a trembly lip. “Mommy, will you help me, please?” She asks.

Embarrassment. Pride. Afraid to ask that one simple question.

This past week, I flopped in the process of submitting my comments back to the publisher. So caught up in the content, and the grammar, and how to make the words perfect on the page, I didn’t focus on the method. I made my notes in the comments thinking it was the more respectful manner of submitting return edits, instead of directly editing my piece in track changes. Sigh. I tried. I honestly gave it my best effort in the moment and then I received the note back saying, I hadn’t done my edits correctly, and I felt terrible.

I took several longs breaths and I did what my mom always tells me to do when I make a mistake. Shake it off. Get back in the game and do it as quickly and respectfully as you possibly can. Next thing to always remember, feel good about yourself when it’s done. You learned something. You recognized a learning moment and you had and have, the opportunity to change.

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