I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here.
Today’s tip is to forgive yourself when things go wrong. We all make mistakes.
Things go wrong all the time. Especially at the ranch, where many things break, or get broken.
Recently I took a day off to work on some baseboard trim in the house. We had some work done in a couple rooms, and the old trim was taken out and tossed. It didn’t match the rest of the house, and it’s been something I wanted to replace. At $6 a foot for a contractor, who wasn’t thrilled with a 2 room job, and a material cost of $1.42 a foot for about 120ft, I decided to do this myself.
If you’ve done this, you know it’s not hard, but it’s not a piece of cake. Some attention to detail is needed, and some care. As I worked my way around the two rooms, I find the flor wasn’t quite level, and so sometimes the trim needed to bend over a slight rise or meet a dip. This resulted in a few joints not matching perfectly. Add to this that I cut a few pieces incorrectly as I got them down.
I know some imperfections get covered with paint or caulk, but as I got close to finished, I wasn’t happy with two pieces. Rather than get upset, I just pulled them out, cut new pieces, one I cut 2 or 3 times, and made things slightly better.
A small thing, but it’s a lesson I’ve learned from work and life that I will make mistakes. I should aim for, and work to, limit mistakes and try not to repeat them, but sometimes I do, and it’s not the end of the world. Move on, correct things as best I can, and forget about them.