You’ve Made a Mistake

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After all, tomorrow is another day.

Scarlet O’Hara

So you’ve made a mistake. So what?

You’ve locked your keys in your car. You didn’t call your mom on her birthday, or remember your wedding anniversary, or left the restaurant without paying your bill. You snapped at your best friend, child, boss, student, lady behind the counter at the gas station. You overslept.

You forgot and missed an appointment. You’ve burnt your supper in the pot. You accused someone innocent of wrong-doing. You didn’t think before you spoke or acted and hurt someone’s feelings, started a huge argument, started a vicious rumour. You spilt your milk.

You broke a promise to take your kid for ice-cream, visit a sick friend, help someone move, or paint, or harvest their garden. Maybe you’ve caused harm intentionally and immediately regretted it, wished you hadn’t said that, didn’t do that, didn’t sink so low. You can’t look at yourself in the mirror.

You made a mistake. So what? Tomorrow is another day. You can fix it, apologize for it, make amends for it, pay for it, take responsibility for it, learn from it, forgive yourself for it and move on…

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

When Helping Hurts

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Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.

We all want to know we are needed.

We all need to know that we can count on our loved ones to support and stand with us.

But what happens when our helping causes harm?

We’ve all hurt others, and we’ve all been hurt by others in the name of helping.

Some dos and don’ts I’ve learned along the way

• Don’t say what they already know. “You’re out of control, you need to let go, that wasn’t your best decision,”  are not helpful.
• Don’t offer negative comments. words like, “You shouldn’t, you can’t, you always screw up,”  etc., tear your loved ones down.
• Do ask questions. “What do you plan to do? Do you have supports in place? How can I help you?”
• Do listen. Let them talk. Holding pain inside keeps people trapped in their own chamber of horrors.
• Do offer comfort. A promise of support. A hug. A hand on their shoulder.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What helping tips do you have?

Related articles

• How to Listen to a Friend Who is Hurting (barbarascovillelcsw.com)