All Of My Clothes Are Gone… But What I Gained Is Invaluable
There are moments in life when we are faced with overwhelming challenges. At times, those challenges can cause ripple effects that we never intended. This post talks about how a traumatic incident at a laundromat taught me an empowering and invaluable lesson about the power of accountability.
The Incident
2 weeks ago I dropped my entire wardrobe off at a laundromat because the washer and dryer in our new home didn’t work. When I say I brought my entire wardrobe… I mean I brought absolutely every article of fabric I have in my possession:
- Clothing
- Bedding
- Towels
- Etc
I remember feeling so excited as I made my way to the laundromat to pick up my things. I couldn’t wait to bring 2 months-worth of freshly-cleaned clothes and linens to our brand new home. I’d been dreaming about it for days.
But my excitement turned into devastation when I arrived at the laundromat…
To my abject horror, I was informed that all of my clothing, bedding, and towels were given to someone else by mistake.
Worst of all, because the laundromat didn’t have any systems in place to track and organize their customers… there was no way to know who had my items now.
Every last article of clothing I owned was gone forever…
In total, I lost thousands in merchandise… Each receipt I looked through was like a knife to the stomach.
All the laundromat was willing to offer was $200 in compensation, and refused to do more than that.
Needless to say, trying to cope with the loss of my things, and dealing with small claims court meant I was drowning in frustration, anxiety, and stress… and it quickly started to have negative effects in my professional life.
The Impact We Have On Those Around Us
My coworkers, clients, and performance suffered during the subsequent days following my incident with the laundromat. My response time had dropped, I was making silly errors that I normally would never make… and my usually content and happy clients were filing complaints.
It was a really dark time, and I was feeling so defeated, lost, and overwhelmed.
But I realized there was one thing I could do…
I decided that the next best step was being honest with the people in my organization who were directly impacted by the challenges I was facing in my personal life.
Honesty, transparency, and accountability is key when rebuilding trust that has been damaged.
This is what I told my team:
“Hey, just wanted to say thank you for your support. These past few weeks have been so rough, and I definitely appreciated the support while I moved to a new home.
But… as some of you know, 2 days ago something horrible happened….”
And so I divulged the loss of all of my belongings, and the effect the situation was having on my mental health.
Accountability Is Key To Successful Communication
After being upfront regarding my personal struggles, and the negative impact it had on my team, I was so surprised and grateful when my coworkers surrounded me with compassion and support.
My boss showed support, too… and was kind enough to share a bit of wisdom with me.
“Hey Rebecca,
I read in a top meditation book that the best advice when you’re stressed or worried is simply to ask yourself “Is this useful?”, “Is what I’m thinking about useful?”. When it comes to stress, the answer (almost always) is no.
The best thing you can do is take action.
Worrying/stressing isn’t productive. Take a breath when you’re overwhelmed, then focus only on the best next steps…”
Reading those words immediately filled me with calm and confidence. He was right. While I couldn’t have predicted or controlled the loss of my belongings… I did have control over how I dealt with the situation. I felt so empowered.
But then he shared some advice that altered my perspective on everything, and changed how I’ll deal with challenges for the rest of my life.
“[… Instead of stating hardships or feeling sorry for yourself, I’d much rather hear about your plans to turn things around. And we’re here to help…]”
It was then that I realized… not only could I control how I confronted situations… but I didn’t have to face those hardships alone, either.
My team had my back.
I thanked him for his honesty, but I decided the best way to show my gratitude was to put his advice into action. Hence, I immediately outlined my strategies around how I’d get myself back on track again.
- I reorganized and completed all outstanding/past due tasks on my “Monday” board
- Sent thank you notes to the clients that had suffered during my lapse in focus
- And committed to boosting my churn rate (and learn from those excelling at it by watching, learning, and asking for help.
With The Right Mindset: Every Challenge Is An Opportunity To Learn And Grow
I sent my clients an honest and concise note thanking them for their patience (along with a token of appreciation via THNKS.com). I acknowledged any lapses in performance, explained the reason behind it, and apologized for any frustration it may have caused them.
I continued to follow my boss’s advice and contemplated my lost laundry situation (and the emotions surrounding it). After assessing the situation from an objective and curious perspective, the anxiety and fear started to melt away.
I won’t pretend that I’m not upset about what happened… but I’ve taken back control over how I deal with it.
I know what I lost is replaceable, and I’m grateful and humbled that I can replace it.
I’m grateful to my coworkers and my clients for inspiring me each day, and I’m grateful for the learning opportunity that this unfortunate mishap availed to me.
When Life Gives You Lemons
While we can’t always control the challenges that arise in life, we can control how we deal with them. We can learn to strengthen our mindset and emotions through healthy self-care practices like meditation, journaling, exercising, etc…
And we can control how we brainstorm and implement solutions, too.
When we separate ourselves from the emotions surrounding a problem, and focus on ways to solve it, recognizing the opportunities to learn and grow become clear.
If you have a story about a valuable lesson you learned in the face of unexpected challenges, share in a comment below.
Or send this post to a friend who’s struggling through a challenge, and might need a confidence-boost!
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