by Lee McCaffrey | Featured Contributor
My head is pounding, my heart is racing and I can’t decide if I want to scream, cry or laugh hysterically.
I breathe through it. Relax. And then my cell dings or rings or my email chirps and off I go again.
Ever felt like this? Stuck on an emotional roller coaster?
Just when you think it’s all going to work out, off you go again powerless to stop it?
This week I’ve had a front row seat on that roller coaster.
I’ve been doing battle with a company who I believe has done the wrong thing by their clients, including my business and I have been caught up leading the charge in the name of all that is fair!
Unable to get to the decision maker or the source of the issue, I’ve felt like no one involved in rectifying the issue has been listening much less caring. I have been powerless and angry.
In the heat of emotion I made the mistake of firing off several emails and messages. These emails and messages, while appearing fully justifiable at the time have now taken me down a path that I don’t want to be on. I’m chest deep in a situation that goes against everything I believe in as a person, a Mom, a writer and a business owner.
So how could I have stopped it happening?
- Don’t send that message
Definitely write it down. Open a word document or pull out your pen and paper. Get it all out.
But don’t hit send.
Save it.
Then take an hour and come back to it. Re-read what you’ve written and decide if this is really the message you want to be sending out to the world.
Does it represent who you are as a professional, as a person. Does it help or hinder you in your quest.
Then edit edit edit, delete or find someone to talk it through with.
- Talk it through
I’m lucky. I have an amazing business coach who spent an hour on the phone with me talking me down – and schooling me on step 1!
She helped me formulate a response and a plan to move forward and start fixing some of the damage.
But if you don’t have a business coach, all you need is someone to talk to out loud.
Someone who has distance from the situation. Who can provide perspective and talk you through all sides.
- Admit when you’re wrong
Regardless of the situation, the way I felt or who was technically in the right, the way I handled it was wrong.
Admitting to yourself and others involved that you were in the wrong will go a long way to repairing some of the damage caused and start you on the road to genuinely fixing the issue.
We’re human. Passionate humans. Flawed humans. And getting stuck on that emotional roller coaster is going to happen from time to time.
Just remember to keep your hands inside the car (and away from the keyboard or cell) and wait until it comes to a complete stop before stepping off!
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Lee McCaffrey is a Mother, Entrepreneur and Writer. Together with her husband she has co-founded and co-directs several companies as well as owning, running and being an adviser and board member to several other small-medium businesses. Her vast experience extends from small business management to software development to marketing and graphic design.
Lee is an established writer and ghost writer and is a regular contributor to several online publications. In addition she documents her experiences as a Mother and Woman in business on her blog Business Makes Three.
A passionate creative, Lee lives on beautiful Lake Macquarie in Australia with her husband and two children.
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