Sometimes you suck at work

Well, that got your attention didn't it? It's true. There are days when you wake up unable to accomplish anything with grace and by the end of the day you wonder how on earth you survived. I'd like to call it being human. Even the most polished, well-rounded individuals have these days!

Let’s relive last Thursday...

I had several meetings scheduled, a few deadlines and some creative work to proof. Pretty standard day and I was looking forward to it! Then it happened. I lost my ability to act like a civilized human being. In my first meeting, I promise that my tongue and brain stopped communicating. I slurred over my words, forgot our Worx process and had a strange twitch in my neck; makes it kind of difficult to put on a professional front.

Then the afternoon came. Another wonderful opportunity with a potential new client! However, my brain decided it was ready for round 2. In mid-meeting, my elbow loudly slipped off of my folder and my entire body jerked. I took a big gulp of my iced coffee only to find my mouth full of about a teaspoon of sugar, causing me to cough loudly. And, then, in mid-sentence I lost my shoe under the table. So while I'm trying to carry on a professional conversation, my foot is rapidly searching for my lost sandal.

Thursday. You were not good to me.

Why on earth am I sharing this with you; To let you know that we're all human. We all have backwards days that leave us questioning our abilities. Sometimes you suck at work. Does it mean that you're incapable of overcoming it? No way!

I'll share a secret with you. When I'm having a day like this, I call myself out on it in front of people. Like the time I was giving a social media presentation in front of about 30 professionals. I accidentally inadvertently made a sexual reference not just once but twice in a row. As some people started to giggle, I realized that I needed to acknowledge my ridiculous mistake. I stopped mid sentence and said "I think we need to take a moment to acknowledge that I just publicly humiliated myself." We laughed as a group and went on with the presentation. I feel like people gain respect for you when you can admit your faults or low moments.

Everyone has their day and their moment when things don't go as planned. Instead of using it as an excuse to not move forward, I use it as a white flag to slow down. Sometimes these things happen because we're balancing too many things in life. Sometimes it happens for no reason at all! However, the important thing to remember is it doesn't have to define who you are. Don't wallow in your mistakes. Own them, acknowledge them and most importantly, laugh at them.

Tomorrow is another day.