23 Jul Order Another Sandwich
Arminta arrived at the client’s meeting and asked if the documents being sent from her assistant were there.
No.
As the meeting finally dragged to a close, she called a nearby deli and ordered lunch, so she could pick it up quickly on her way back to her office in time for an afternoon meeting.
Arminta arrived at the deli and asked if her lunch order had been received and filled.
No.
On the way home she stopped at the cleaner’s to pick up a skirt and she checked to see if the rip in the hem had been repaired, as requested.
No.
When she got home she found a message from the vet saying that an error had been made in booking, and now the only available time was an hour ago, and was this convenient.
No.
Arminta’s feelings about each of these was similar. But she felt that she had choices in how she acted in response to them. She could have yelled at everyone, but she knows that often the act of getting anger out results in turmoil coming in, so she picked reactions to suit the actions:
– She spoke to her assistant about the missing documents, explaining consequences and responsibility, requested and listened to her assistant’s comments, and initiated some actions that might prevent future errors.
– She gave the deli a break. Everyone makes mistakes; lunchtime is busy.
– She thought she might look for a different dry cleaner.
– She told the vet that she was dissatisfied with the handling of the appointment error, and that she wanted another appointment soon at her convenience.
Her assistant deserves and needs some instruction and guidance. Letting her go, or ignoring the error, or just reprimanding would serve no-one.
She doesn’t need to tell the dry cleaner or the vet how to do their jobs; she just needs to know what is best for her to do in response to their actions.
And sometimes, we can just let it go. Order another sandwich.