What should you do when you find out that you make a mistake? We have many options, some better than others.

Let’s look at the not so good options. We can deny that that a mistake was made. However, gaslighting is never a healthy way to go, especially if you are wanting to build up trust in your relationship. Denying a reality does not make you look good. The bottom-line is denial breaks down trust and relationships.

You can blame someone else. That may work for awhile or even in some situations. But denying responsibility, again, destroys trust and relationships. You can try blaming someone else. But that also only works for so long.

Or you can do the scariest one of all. You can stop, take a deep breath, and own your error. Surprisingly, this one option, the scariest one, actually makes more people respect you, makes more people trust you, truly helps heal relationships. You may thing that doesn’t make sense. Here you just admitted that you messed up! Why would someone trust you now? We all mess up. All of us. Often. Pretending that you are somehow above all of that does not engender trust. We all know that perfection cannot be true. So, if you are lying about this, what else are you lying about?

You want to make owning up even better? After you admit that you made a mistake, ask how you can repair it. This is amazingly powerful! And healing. This working for all kinds of relationships, personal and work.

Own it and fix it. Become the human that you want to be.