Real Talk: Embracing Our Less-Than-Finest Moments

Speaker A [00:00:10]:
Well, hello you. And welcome back to another episode of have a seat conversations with women in the workplace podcast. I am your host, Deborah Coleman. And welcome back to this week. We are in at the date of this recording, it is early May, and I can't believe we are in May almost halfway through 2024. Oh my gosh. Stop. I wanna get off.

Speaker A [00:00:34]:
Like, that's just too crazy. Right? Can't believe it. But welcome everybody. Welcome once again to this. Yes. Is another mini cast episode. For those of you who may or may not know, yes, I am a primarily an interview style show where I sit down with fabulous women in the workplace who share their expertise and their career journeys with us. But every once in a while, I will steal the mic and do exactly this.

Speaker A [00:01:00]:
Have a quick, what I like to call a mini cast or otherwise known as a solo episode and just have a chat, just you and me, about a topic or a subject that has floated across my peripheral or a conversation I happen to engage in in the last couple months or weeks. And I'm thinking, you know what? I wanna share that with my with my beautiful listeners and get their take it. And we'll just we'll just have fun. Yes, these do tend to get a little on the sassy side. So if you have me on speaker and there's little ones about, sometimes colorful language can be dropped. I'm just giving you a fair warning. Or if you have me on at work, might wanna turn those speakers down, because I do tend to get loud, I tend to get excitable, and I do tend to babble just a bit. But, I do try to keep in mind the time in mind and not try to tie up too much of your time, and try to keep these mini casts on the shorter side.

Speaker A [00:01:54]:
So with that being said, welcome once again to this week, and we are going to have a quick chat about embracing our less than finest moments at work. You it it happens. It happens. Right? It happens maybe more often than we care to admit quite honestly. But as in in in this profession that I so greatly love in the 20 plus years, I've been in it. Have I had, oh, moments at work or like bang my head against the wall moments at work or smack my head and get my hand against my head and roll my eyes back in moments. Absolutely. Like, it's like breathing.

Speaker A [00:02:35]:
They happen. No. Sometimes they happen more than we'd like them to. Like, some certain weeks, you're like, why did I even bother getting up this morning? I just oh, lord. You know, you're like, I don't even know what's happening with this week. Everything I touch crumbles. You just have those moments where you feel like I'm not doing anything right. But then to counteract that, to be fair, you also have those moments where you're like, I am such a star.

Speaker A [00:03:00]:
I am the golden unicorn this week, man. I am rocking it. I am killing it. I am doing all things right. And those are awesome moments. And I wish you have I wish for you to have more of those and less of the uh-oh, what the f moments at work. But they happen. They're a part of us.

Speaker A [00:03:17]:
So let's see. To so as I said, let's just let's let's focus on those uh-oh moments. Let's flip the script a little and dive head first into some real talk into some real talk. You know, I'm all about that. I'm all about conversations with you and just have breaking things down, especially in these mini casts. As I've said before, I don't have initials after my last name. You're probably not, quote, going to learn anything. This is more of just like a conversation with a girlfriend over coffee, these mini casts.

Speaker A [00:03:49]:
So that's the vibe we're gonna go with. We're gonna go with some real talk. The kind that's and we're gonna talk about the kind of talk we're gonna have is not sunshine and rainbows. It's actually what happens in the exact opposite when there's dark clouds and rain. Right? So because you see, we're all about embracing the messy. Right? The less than finest moments, the ones where we do stumble, where we do fumble, and maybe even bumble a bit at work. Yeah. Those moments, friend, those moments is what we're gonna talk about when we're not exactly winning any gold stars.

Speaker A [00:04:26]:
But guess what? But guess what? That's okay. It's okay to have those moments because in fact, we should, I believe, lean into them and give them a nod and say, hey. I see you. I see you not so perfect moment. I see you. I see that fumble that I made. That's okay. I acknowledge your presence.

Speaker A [00:04:46]:
You are a part of my journey and that's okay. We're gonna work through it and get through it together. Because I absolutely believe the story doesn't end there. It doesn't end there. So you had an oopsie at work. That's okay. What did we learn from it? What did we take from it? And let's move on. Let's not hang out with it.

Speaker A [00:05:04]:
It doesn't need to live with us. It doesn't need to take up real estate for all that time. Right? So let's sit together for a few moments today and talk about those not so rosy moments. I, in the spirit of true transparency, will be sharing some of my own blunders and mishaps because, hey, we're all in this together. So consider this episode kind of like, as I said in the beginning, a a a talk with a girlfriend over coffee. This is my virtual half hug to you. It's a gentle reminder that it's okay to feel frustrated, angry, or even disappointed at some of these moments. Absolutely.

Speaker A [00:05:44]:
You do need to breathe that in. You do need to live with those. Don't try to hide it. Embrace the ugly. Embrace the messy. But fear not, my beautiful friend, because amidst the mess, there's always always a glimmer of hope, a promise of tomorrow. Always. I do believe that wholeheartedly.

Speaker A [00:06:03]:
So with that being said, let's dive in and embrace the beautiful chaos of our imperfect work selves. So in the spirit of being true totally transparent with you, I wanted to be act sort of as the guest in this episode, and I wanted to be asked the questions. So I pulled up my handy virtual assistant. She goes by the name of Gemini. Yeah. She's all that and a bag of chips. Gemini, if you're not familiar, is Google's version of chat gpt. Or as my beautiful beautiful friend, miss Melissa Peoples, likes to call chatgpt chatty.

Speaker A [00:06:45]:
I love chatty. I think that's such a cute name. Thank you, Melissa. So Gemini, again, to reiterate, is Chat gpt or Chatty's evil stepsister. Right? I mean, it's the it's it's Chaddy's evil twin on the Google side of the house. Now sidebar, I am totally team Google. I am Google trainer certified level 1. So, yeah, naturally, I went to Bard.

Speaker A [00:07:11]:
Okay. Take that, Microsoft. No. I'm kidding. Chatty is nondenominational, so I I do make fun of it. But it is it is neither Microsoft nor Google. But I because I am a team Googler, I did turn to Gemini for help with this episode. So I described this to Gemini.

Speaker A [00:07:29]:
I said, look. I'm doing an episode on how to break through those not so perfect moments at work, how to work through them. What are some questions I can ask a guest about having and working through and experiencing these not so perfect moments at work? And so gen Gemini spit out 3 questions. I asked for 3 because, again, time. And, and it came up with 3 beautiful questions. And so I'm excited to kind of sit on the other side of the mic in a in a virtual sense and let Gemini be the host for this episode. So that's the that's the idea that we're going with in this for this talk today. So so the first question, there's only 3, so bear with me.

Speaker A [00:08:12]:
There's only 3 and I'll and I'll get through them fairly quickly. But the first question, Gemini, and I'm gonna read it to you just how Gemini put it. So because Gemini is the host. Right? So I wanna be respectful. So Gemini says, well, we've all been there. Can you please spill the beans on a memorable oopsie doodle moment at work? What happened? How did you manage to turn it around into a learning experience? Okay. First of all, Gemini, very cute. Love that way you phrase that, but I have to ask you.

Speaker A [00:08:47]:
How old are you? Like, oopsie doodle. That I'm sorry. But that just sounds like something my mom would say or, like, you know, the greatest generation would say, like, you had an oopsie doodle. Right? That sounds like something from a Saturday Night Live skit too. But it's adorable. I love it. Thank you, Gemini. I did ask for it to be casual and fun in tone, so this is what I get.

Speaker A [00:09:12]:
Oopsie doodle moment. So there are so many that I've had. Again, in my 20 plus years working on this planet, I I mean, my goodness. Right? I think all of us can say the same. We could fill a book. We could journal, like, 5 journals probably with some of the, like, dope moments we've had. But one I wanna I don't know why this came to me, but it did. When I read the question, this was the knee jerk answer I had.

Speaker A [00:09:37]:
So I'm just again, in the spirit of transparency, you know, sidebar, these mini cast episodes are not polished in any way, shape, or form. I am literally grabbing the mic and talking to you. So, and I because I want that to be authentic. I want you to hear my true reaction, my authentic voice, how I honestly would react to some of these questions or how I honestly feel about certain subject matters. I don't wanna be polished. I want to come at you real. So this is my real answer. Okay, miss Gemini.

Speaker A [00:10:07]:
Thank you for that answer. Let me share with you one of the more memorable oopsie doodle moments I've had. So a position before the 2 positions before the one I'm in now, I was an office coordinator at UNLV for an academic advising office that catered specifically to pre med students. If some of you are familiar with the college campus, you know, or even, like, just education in in general. Right? There is always some element of an academic advising office. Well, UNLV has what's known as a pre professional advising office. And, basically, what that is is for anyone who's interested in a health profession. This is an advising office specifically for you.

Speaker A [00:10:53]:
It's not general education. It's for those who are seeking a health profession, not nursing. Nursing has its own world, like its own school, its own advising office, but anybody else, doctors, dentists, optometrists, chiropractors, veterinarians, physical therapists, like, all of those things, podiatrists, like, the whole thing. We have an advising office just for you if that is your career path. Because if any of you also have a doctor or anyone in the health profession, again, even nursing, but anyone who goes down that route, there is so much when you're still an undergrad, there is so much for you to keep track of and do that, yes, they do need their own advising office because there is specific you are niching down now. So you really need to be advised on next steps, on application deadlines, on testing, on like, there is so much for these students to keep track of. So, yes, UNLV has a separate advising office for those students on that track. Well, I was an office coordinator for this advising office.

Speaker A [00:11:54]:
Love the director. Love the advisors and especially adored the students. Because they were just they were amazing. I love those students. They have so much going on more than I could ever have as an adult at at the at that tender age between 18 22, they had so much. I mean, when you're pre med or pre health, holy goodness. There's so much, and I really admire the the tenacity and the strength of these students. So with that being said, so I was fairly new in the role.

Speaker A [00:12:24]:
And one of the things that this advising office does is they put on information sessions, like, all throughout the semester. I mean, we're talking it's almost, like, almost every week. Oh, it's at least 3 or 4 times, if not more a month, The advisers and the director will have an in person. This is, you know, pre COVID, of course. But anyway, so they have these sessions where they we rent, you know, we rent. We reserve a meeting space on campus, and then we just for, like, a lunch hour. Like, it's a lunch and learn kinda thing. Come in and, you know, this session we're gonna talk about application deadlines.

Speaker A [00:13:00]:
Maybe the next session we're gonna talk about how to interview when you get granted an interview for a medical school. In this session, we're gonna so, like, we break it down into digestible informational sessions. These are sessions that the students have to sign up for. We do require at the time anyway. We required an RSVP just so we could get a headcount, so we can get, like, who's who's coming. That way if there was any pre, information to hand out, we we knew we knew, you know, we could send it out directly to the the peer you know, the student who RSVP'd, that sort of thing. So we did all the things. We advertised this particular session.

Speaker A [00:13:31]:
Yay. It was all we reserved the room, got the date, advertised it, got the RSVP going. Yeah. We got a few students signed up. We're looking really healthy. We had, you know, close to 30 students signed up, and they're always really robust. Like, we always have really good attendance at these sessions. Right? So everything was good.

Speaker A [00:13:51]:
So the day of right? We all get our stuff, you know, together. You know, the director gets her laptop and and the other directors get we I and I do we all bring over the stuff because we always had a table in the room with information they could leave and and actually take with them. Right? Pertaining to the topic that we were covering. And so we're there. We're in the room. We're waiting for these students, and it's getting close to the hour. It's about 10 of, and it's still crickets. Usually, like, we start to see students really, like, from what I was told, because this is one of the first ones that I did, again, fairly new in the role.

Speaker A [00:14:24]:
It was still crickets. It was like, god, we're students. Like, what's going on? Like, this isn't usual. And I'm sitting here going, yeah, what's going on? And, somebody said, I wasn't sure if it was the director or one of the advisors said something about, reminding the students like, oh, well, something about, well, did the reminder get sent or did they, you know, what was the RSVP list? Something. Somebody said something and it clicked in my head. As I'm standing there. It clicked in my head. Oh, no.

Speaker A [00:14:54]:
Oh, no. I did not send a reminder. It just clicked like a light bulb. I didn't send a reminder. I didn't I didn't it just didn't even dawn on me. And let me just say, I'm not even gonna make an excuse. Like, that is just it doesn't matter that I was new in the role. That is meeting that is meeting at planning 101, friends.

Speaker A [00:15:13]:
Like, that's just that's embarrassing that I did not think to do that. So but that's okay. I as soon as I realized it, I looked at the clock. I'm like, you know what? It's 10 of. We still got 10 minutes. I can still salvage this thing maybe. So I ran out. I ran back to our office.

Speaker A [00:15:29]:
Luckily, our office wasn't that far from the meeting space. So I ran back to the office, hopped on my computer, pulled up the RSVP list. Thank god we RSVP'd so I could, like, literally, like, target the ones who are signed up and sent it sent it, like, email quickly saying, hey. Friendly reminder happening now and for some you know, information session, blah blah blah. Right? Sent it out. And I mean, mind you, like, we had a few students that had trickled in. So it wasn't like it was completely empty. You know? If so, a few students, like, were, you know, diligent enough to, like, put it on their calendar or remember when it was and they showed up, but it was just such a low number that then they were used to seeing.

Speaker A [00:16:03]:
So I hit that email, sent it out. By the time I made my way back to the off to the meeting space, more students had showed up. And then literally, like, at the top of the hour and even 5 after the hour, here they came. Like, they were just because, you know, students, they're on their phones constantly, so they got the email, like, immediately. And, you know, I heard the comments like, oh, thanks for the reminder, or I was on my way, or thanks for the you know? So it was like, whoo. Whoo. Thank you, Lord. You know? Like so I saved I I saved it.

Speaker A [00:16:32]:
So that was that I mean, honestly, that was just one. There are so many oopsies I that I've had. Again, I wish I could share another one with you, but I just none are coming to mind. And, again, in the interest of time, I don't wanna, like, linger too much, but that was just an example. So so, to to part 2, the part 2 to the question, which was okay. What happened? I answered that. How did you manage to turn it around? Well, I noticed that I still had some time, so I ran back to the office to see if I could still salvage this thing. Right? By sending out a reminder email, which is something I should've done the day before and even that morning.

Speaker A [00:17:10]:
I should've said I should've done that too. Because, again, anyway, I this go again, what I wanted to say leans into the third part of the question, which is and how how did you turn it around into a learning experience? Well, what I learned is know your audience. I know my end. This really goes for anybody and I don't mean to just pick on college students, but honestly, college students. Right? Again, especially this specific segment, this subgroup of college students, pre med, pre health, they've got, again, so much going on. I needed to meet them where they're at. I needed to be more diligent and thoughtful and respectful in reminding them of this information session. So that was my takeaway was know your audience, and don't forget meeting planning 101.

Speaker A [00:17:57]:
Like, you know, don't make assumptions. You know? I think that might be if I'm being honest with myself. After the first email blast went out and we got and we got the sign ups, it was like, in my mind, I might have been thinking like, oh, it's a foregone conclusion. They'll know when to show up. They RSVP'd. Right? No. Wrong. Right? So I I turned it around.

Speaker A [00:18:18]:
I didn't just let it sit. I didn't just stay in the room and say, well, oh, well, you know, I guess that's we only have 5 students today. No. You know, it was like, wait a minute. It's 10 of, I think I can still salvage this thing. Let me see what I can do. And even if that email didn't work, at least I tried. Right? I didn't just sit there and accept my fate or accept the fact that we're just, you know, accept my oopsie and and just sit there and with a dark cloud over my head.

Speaker A [00:18:42]:
It's like, wait a minute. Let me roll up my sleeves and see how I might be able to salvage this thing. So that's what I did to how to help try to manage to turn it around. And that's honestly how I attack probably 99.9% of any of the oopsies I've experienced. If it's within my control to do so, my final answer isn't well, that's just the way it's gonna have to be. My final answer more often than not is let me see what else can happen here. Is there something we can still work with? Is there something we can still salvage? What can we do? I I can't accept like, oh, well, as a final answer that we've got to see if we can somehow turn this around. So that is just my that's my personality style.

Speaker A [00:19:26]:
That's how I attack things like that. That may not be yours and that's perfectly fine. I mean, it's totally subjective. Right? Everybody has their own way and their own style. And, of course, every oopsie or as Gemini put, every oopsie doodle, is is its own experience. And so you may not be able to turn it around. You may not it may be completely out of your hands at some point, and you may only have one option but to sit with it. And that's fine too.

Speaker A [00:19:54]:
But that was my example. So question number 1, in the books. Done and done. Question 2, Gemini says, let's talk about those uh-oh moments for a little bit. When you goofed up at the office, what was your go to move for keeping calm and carrying on? Any secret hacks for bouncing back with a smile? Oh, I love that, Gemini. Thank you. Because I absolutely am a positive thinking person. I I always try to operate from a glass is half full mentality, especially at work because I feel like it's such a slippery slope.

Speaker A [00:20:32]:
It's too easy to be a negative Nelly at work. Like, that's a cop out to me. It takes more work to be a poly positive. Right? So, let's see. How when you goofed up at the office, okay, what was your go to move for keeping calm and carrying on? So my go to move, I think is something that I just previously touched on, which is I don't just let it end with that uh-oh moment. For me, helping me to pick up the pieces and carry on, one thing I could I do is to see, can this be salvaged? And if it's in my control to do so, let's do it. You know, let's try to turn this around and try to salvage the oopsie if we can. Okay? That's one thing.

Speaker A [00:21:14]:
Another thing that I try to do to keep calm and carry on is to give myself some forgiveness. You know, just give myself some grace and say, you know what? It's okay. You you are only human. You have a lot going on. It's only natural that one of the balls drops. It's only it's okay that you forgot to send out an email the day of the presentation. You know, it's okay that I forgot to, you know, schedule a lift for my boss when he landed, you know, at the airport to get to the conference. You can still salvage it.

Speaker A [00:21:51]:
Maybe, you know, whatever it is that's never happened. I'm just trying to pick something that's, like, a little bit more, like, heavier weighted. You know, it's okay. It's okay. I have actually had some travel oopsies. I have. My boss has actually showed up at the hotel, and they have they have told him, we don't have you checking in until tomorrow. It's like, ah, you know, when you get that text from your boss, like, what? You know? Luckily, I was able to call the hotel.

Speaker A [00:22:20]:
And between him and myself in the hotel, we were able to get him in. But still, you know, it's still like, oh my god. I got the date wrong. What was I thinking? You know, one of those moments. So what I do is I try to give myself some grace because and I literally just said this in a cohort session that I attended this morning in the chat. I typed it in. It seems to me that all around us, other people and I'm talking from a support staff, lens right now. So those of you who may not know, I am an executive assistant.

Speaker A [00:22:51]:
So that's a lot of the spin I put on some of these scenarios is from that experience, from that perspective. So it seems to me that all around me at work, other people are forgiven for their oopsies. The it's it's it's okay. No problem. We'll work around it. We can work with this. Don't worry about it. We know you have a lot on your plate.

Speaker A [00:23:13]:
We'll cover for you. We can fix it. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. But then when it comes to something that we do in the support staff realm, I'm talking to the administrative and executive assistants out there or anyone in that, you know, world. When we have an oopsie or a mess up at work, it appears that many times what we are met with is you should know better, do better next time. Why did this happen? What did you do wrong? Why did you let that fall through the cracks? What were you thinking? You weren't thinking.

Speaker A [00:23:52]:
How could you let this happen? I'm disappointed. Because of this, now x, y, and z can't happen. How did you let that go? You know, there doesn't seem to be as much grace or space given to us in those moments. And so where am I going with that? We get that enough externally. We get that type of BS externally. We don't need to give it to ourselves internally. So how do I keep calm and carry on? I am that cheerleader for myself. I am that advocate for myself.

Speaker A [00:24:27]:
I am that partner for myself. I tell myself, you know what, Deb? I forgive you for this. You need to be forgiven for this. It's fine. You're only human. This one mistake, if this is all the only mistake you do this week, you are good, girl. Don't even worry about it. You got this.

Speaker A [00:24:44]:
And another thing I do is I try to tee try very much try to turn it around into a learning lesson because I can't just let it sit there like this, you know, dark cloud. I have to look up and go, I'm gonna turn you into flowers. I'm gonna put that rain that that dark cloud is producing to good use, and I'm gonna put it back into my garden and let those flowers grow and turn this around into a learning lesson. So that's how I keep calm and carry on. I own it. I give myself space. I forgive myself because many times we're not gonna get it externally. So I become my own cheerleader and my own support system in those moments.

Speaker A [00:25:28]:
And I give myself forgiveness. And I've turned it around into a learning opportunity. Because, again, I'm a polypositive. I've gotta turn a spin around it. Okay. So next time I know to send out, an email reminder the day of the morning of the day before. Great. So next time before my boss leaves on a vacation, I put a calendar reminder, hey.

Speaker A [00:25:48]:
Boss leaves in 2 days. Call the hotel, confirm check-in and check out dates. Pull up his airline itinerary again, make sure the flight is good, make sure he's got his seats upgraded, do all the things. Right? That's all. Turn it around. Spin it around into a learning opportunity. So that's how I keep calm and carry on. Any secret house hacks for bouncing back with a smile, for me, I try to find the humor.

Speaker A [00:26:16]:
I know it's not always obvious, and it's pretty hard sometimes. And I'm not all I'm not a 100% with it because let's face it. There are certain circumstances, you know, that don't you just can't find the humor and you're just like, fuck me. I just this is not you know what I'm saying? And it's really hard to find a humor. But I use humor a lot as my defense mechanism, and I just am somebody who loves to laugh both at myself and at others. Yeah. I'll go there. I laugh at you, but I also laugh with you.

Speaker A [00:26:48]:
I I should say I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing with you. If you're chuckling, I'm gonna chuckle with you. Right? So I try to just find the humor. Even if it's just to myself, even if no one else is involved, it's like, Deb, what? What are you thinking? Can you imagine? Can you imagine if your boss tried to check? Like, what would have like, where would he have stayed tonight? Would you have just found him, like, a Motel 6 or, like, an Airstream to stay in? You know what I mean? Like, I just I tried to, like, talk myself through. If applicable, try to find a little just a little bit of humor into it. I've got to somehow find a chuckle. That's just how I kind of it helps me process.

Speaker A [00:27:28]:
It helps me get over that what were you thinking hump. It it's a part of my support system that I give myself. So, yes, I do try to bounce back with some sort of a smile. I really do. Or if I'm trying to be there for another, I try to spin it. If I'm trying to be there for you, if you're relaying an oopsie moment at work to me, I am gonna try my hardest to end our conversation on a positive note for you, to give you a smile. Because the last thing I wanna do is walk away from you in this conversation and seeing you still upset. That's just that doesn't sit well in my heart, and I don't want that for you.

Speaker A [00:28:05]:
So I will try to end those with myself as well as with others with a smile. Because you know what? You gotta keep you gotta keep at it. I I often say I often say the day I stop laughing at my job, like, at at just the ridiculous, the ridiculousness of it sometimes, the day I stop laughing at the ridiculousness is the day I need to walk away. When I can't find a slimmer of humor in what we do and what I do as an executive assistant, then that's the day I need to walk away because that's the day that it it's not fun anymore. Right? So anyway so that's my answer. That's my answer, miss Gemini. Okay. Moving on to the very last question.

Speaker A [00:28:45]:
Thank you for hanging in there with me. I hope you're having fun with this conversation. Again, I'm not. I'm just sharing. And if you take something away, fantastic. But if you don't, that's fine too. Again, this is just a conversation, a lighthearted conversation between me and you and our virtual cup of coffee. Okay? So last question, Gemini says, mistakes can be a real confidence shaker.

Speaker A [00:29:10]:
So after a slip up, how do you give your mojo a boost and get back in the game? Any casual tips or quirky rituals that help you regain your workplace swagger? Oh my. Great question actually, Gemini. Thank you for that. Really. That's, honestly, that's like something I would ask a guest. So I'm pretty impressed that it kinda picked up on my tone. So how do I give my mojo a boost? Get regain my workplace swagger. You know what? There's always the next day.

Speaker A [00:29:44]:
What I do is I finish out the day in whatever mood I'm in, whatever, you know, whatever after that, oopsie, if I'm still kind of sitting with my dark cloud, that's okay. I let my dark cloud take up some real estate and follow me around the rest of the day. That's okay. That's alright. That's okay because I I'm don't I think running and not acknowledging that oopsie or that dark cloud is is not healthy. I think you need to look at that dark cloud and say, I see you. Like I said in the beginning of this episode, that's cool. You can hang around today, but you have an expiration date.

Speaker A [00:30:16]:
By 5 PM today or when I log off or when I'm done working for the day, you're gone, friend. I am not gonna go home with you hanging around. I am not gonna wake up tomorrow morning with you hanging around. I will allow you to stay here the rest of the day or for the next hour or until the end of this oopsie is over with. But then you're gone. You're done. You're done. So that's how I retain or gain back my workplace swagger is the next morning.

Speaker A [00:30:41]:
That was yesterday. That was in the past or that was an hour ago or whatever, you know, your timeline is, But that's it. I'm back at it today. I'm back to being, you know, an a plus, whatever your title is. You know, I'm back to being that, you know, that strong forward thinking, needle moving, innovative, you know, business partner, EA executive assistant. For those of you who don't know, I'm back at it. Today's a new day. It's a new dawn.

Speaker A [00:31:16]:
It's a new day as the song says. Right? And so we're gonna go. We're gonna continue from this point. I am not gonna let that dark cloud take up residence and take up real estate and more importantly take up precious mental energy, spiritual energy and emotional energy. I'm not letting it steal it anymore from me. It had its time. It had its day. It had its moment, but we're moving on now.

Speaker A [00:31:41]:
It's a new day. And that's what I also tell friends of mine who are going through similar things who I talk to. Okay. But it's a new day, so we need to let that go. What did we learn? That it happened. The oopsie happened. What did we learn from it? How are we going to do better next time? If we can we laugh at it? Can we get a little chuckle out of it? Let's sit with the let's sit with the darkness for the day but then the next day we're moving on. And that's how I regain my workplace swagger.

Speaker A [00:32:10]:
Also, the next time I do something stellar, like, you know, I mean, you know, we all have those moments. You go throughout the day in your work. You're getting things done, checking things off your list. But there's always that one task that was like, oh, that's like an a plus. Like, I went above and beyond. I did something I didn't have to do or I was proactive and I and I, you know, I I completed something before I was even asked to do it or before it was even a thought. You know, I already got it done. You know, those kind of moments where you're, like, giving yourself a pat on the back, then I I dwell on that for a little bit longer.

Speaker A [00:32:43]:
You know? It's like, you know what? I I share that. Either I share it with Paul or I share it with a coworker. You know, I just have to share with something with you. I'm kinda proud of myself. I did this. And so every time I have that kind of thought or conversation or a little pat on the back, that just helps me get regain my workplace swagger. It's like, you know what? I am good. I just had I just tripped.

Speaker A [00:33:05]:
I was walking along the sidewalk in my killer heels, and I tripped. But you know what? I'm still walking. I still got those killer heels on. I'm still good. I'm still golden. I still got this. You know? It's okay. I had a hiccup.

Speaker A [00:33:17]:
That's alright. I'm human. Next. You know? So that's how I replace my my workplace swagger. And let me tell you, in all honesty, not only am I coming from a support staff standpoint and viewpoint and lens, but my friend, I'm also coming as somebody very similar to you. I'm sure many of you who are listening. Look. I've been in the workplace at since the tender age of 17 and when I started working retail.

Speaker A [00:33:43]:
Right? So this is also I can I also have the privilege if you will, of being able to look at these oopsie moments from an experienced eye? Now if you were to ask these same questions to Deborah back in the day at in my twenties, maybe not so much. You might be getting different answers. You might even be getting a tear or 2. Right? You might even be getting a panic attack kind of an answer. So but I'm coming at you from somebody who's been in the workplace for decades now. And I'm so my answers are also based off of experience, just lived experience, just life, just working. Right? So I'm able I'm better able to handle some of these oopsie moments and not give them so much weight anymore. And that is one of the blessings of being a more seasoned executive assistant is that I can actually look at some of these moments and not give them all that weight.

Speaker A [00:34:45]:
I can acknowledge them sit with them own it but then move on because there is life after that. I am more than just that mistake. You are more than just that mistake. Mistakes are gonna happen, but you are more than that. You are more than that, my friend. So that about wraps up this show. It probably went on a little bit longer than I intended, but my message was so important and I, and I just, I really, I really live in this message. Again, I'm not telling you anything I don't tell myself.

Speaker A [00:35:15]:
I'm sharing with you from the heart. I hope you found some value in this in this chat that we had together today. I know it's a one-sided chat. I appreciate that. It's a podcast. But still, for more mini cast just like this where I let loose, you know, turn on the microphone and just just blah, you know, just tell share with you my thoughts. Check out the link in the show notes that will take you right to the have a seat website where you will find more conversations one-sided, but more mini cast solo episodes just like this, where I tackle workplace topics, listener submitted topics, that are floating around my orbit in that week, month, or or day. Right? Many times, I'll hear something and run for the for my podcast studio at home, grab the mic and just start talking because I'm that passionate about the topic or conversation that I just had.

Speaker A [00:36:06]:
So they're fun. They're lighthearted. They are a little sassy. It's more of a share than anything. If you learn something great. Yay. Also let me know On my website, there are 2 ways to get in touch with me and to continue this conversation. Let's continue it.

Speaker A [00:36:23]:
Let's talk about our oopsies at work. How do we deal with that? How do others respond to it? What do you think about my take on how others seem to have forgiveness, but when it comes to us at in the administrative support world, that forgiveness seems very slow to come if at all. What are your thoughts on that? Do you agree with me? Do you think that is true or am I way off mark? Either let me know through the contact me form on my website, and I'll share your response with your permission, or come on the show. Register to be a guest, and let's continue this conversation. I would love to hear your perspective and your thoughts. So anyway, that wraps up this week's show, my friend. I hope this finds you tackling this week head on with positivity and a go get them attitude. And you know what? If you already experienced an oopsie at work, don't worry.

Speaker A [00:37:15]:
I know you're more than that. You've got this. You can work your way through it and rise up and face the next day because you are going to be phenomenal. I know you are. So, anyway, alright, y'all. Thank you so much for listening and tuning in this week. As always, stay safe, be well, and remember, keep having those conversations.