More than words

04.05.10

I have a three year old who has definitely entered the "Terrific Threes" ... her devilish antics are wreaking havoc on our household. When she's caught, she quickly throws out a "Sorry!" ... but a few minutes later, will commit another act of mischief.

Her father and I sat her down a few nights ago and were trying to explain to her that she shouldn't do mean things to her sister ... her immediate response was "I said I sorry." Her little 3-year old mind absolutely believed that just by saying those words, she was in the clear! We tried to explain to her that just because you say you are sorry, that doesn't undo the damage – especially if you just turn around and do the same thing again. It was a hard concept to explain to a 3 year old – that an apology only works if you mean it – and if your actions later demonstrate that you meant it.

Hard for a 3-year old – and sometimes even harder for an adult.

In the "real" world – aka the corporate world – we all make mistakes. Some are big, some are small. Some have a huge impact on others; some barely register a blip in the daily activity. Either way, rarely do we have to actually say the words "I'm sorry." But we DO have to then act in a manner that shows we learned from the mistake. We have to not only recognize our own missteps – we have to learn from them.

Luckily (or not) we don't have "time out" in the corporate world. We don't get sent to our rooms or grounded from the fun stuff. But we do get held accountable – whether it's spoken out loud or whispered in the halls.

Sometimes a wrong turn fixes itself; sometimes it doesn't. Regardless, we have to be mature enough to recognize where we went wrong and we have to then apply that lesson as we move forward.

Growth isn't always measured in weight and height. Sometimes it's measured in how we respond to the challenges that face us. I think Reindeer is growing in the right direction.