Last week I was in Supervalu doing my grocery shopping. I had purchased a washing up brush and had forgotten to put it through. I noticed it and asked the teller to check if I had paid for it. As it turned out I hadn't. But more interestingly it turns out that she had inadvertently overcharged me for some croissants so I was actually due a refund.
That was a pleasant surprise! Somehow when we both admitted we had screwed up...the whole incident took on a much more human flavour....so how merciful can you be to your own (and others) screwups?
Monday, September 7, 2009
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I'm much more merciful about other folks' humanity than I am about my own screwups. Curse of the Virgo perfectionist! The upside is we're great detail spotters and disaster averters, but we're rarely given credit for it. It's taken me 50 years to learn to be kind to myself and laugh at the tragedy that is the woman noticing the smear on the glass while ruminating about whether it's half full or half empty!
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ReplyDeleteDidn't know you are a Virgo Janice. Detail spotters and disaster averters - two of our most notable traits.
ReplyDeleteAnne, like Janice I am more forgiving of other people's screwups than I am of my own. Long after I've committed some error, long after everyone else has forgiven me and moved into the realm of finding the whole episode funny, I'm still beating up on myself.
Learning to not take myself so seriously is an ongoing process for me, although not quite a priority.
Thanks for your timely post. It has helped to move this aspect of my life journey in the priority file.