Well, THIS was a turn of events!

How to handle the unexpected

No day is perfect and this one was a freakin doozy.

So, last year around this time my husband Jeff and I were excited, packed, and ready to go on vacation to Mexico to celebrate a friend's wedding. We had our outfits for the 90’s theme party night, my hair and nails were done, and we were ready to dine on the all-inclusive food and celebrate love with a partaayyyy.

What we didn’t know in the coming days before the wedding was that, my pregnant self at the time, would have an unexpected health risk that made me unable to fly. 

My husband stayed with me of course but we missed an incredible long weekend with friends in a country that we haven’t traveled to together yet. I was and still am disappointed about that honestly. This friend is through my husband so he was even more crushed and although the health risk wasn’t my fault, because of course I didn’t plan it, I felt awful.

Fast forward to this week, Jeff remembered the travel credit from the trip that we hadn’t used yet with all the busyness of bringing our child into the world and all the prepping and celebrations leading up to her beautiful arrival. When he went to check the expiration date it had expired the day before he checked!

“Seriously?! Come onnnn,” I huffed when he told me.

In an effort to not lose all the flight money we had as a credit, he used the Jet Blue chat to ask for an extension. They gave him until the end of the month. Yes, the end of THIS month, meaning September 30th 2024! 

With only a few days to spare, I had a brilliant idea!

I remembered we had some travel vouchers that included stays in the U.S and internationally at all-inclusive resorts; including Mexico! I ran to grab them, and thankfully so, because two vouchers expire in late 2025 but one expires on November 30, 2024!

I knew we had to act fast so in between work calls, taking care of my daughter who seemed to be extra fussy from her 4-month vaccines and sleep regression, and typical house care, I registered the voucher this past Thursday hoping the travel agent would call us by Friday, which was yesterday, to book the trip. 

And call on Friday they did! The agent wanted me to tell her where we wanted to stay and that’s when things took a turn. She told me the resort in Mexico that we wanted to visit wasn’t included in the travel options. However, I knew I read resort on the list and KNEW I wasn’t buggin. 

So, to confirm my voucher, she read me the certificate number and that’s when we realized something awful. I Registered The WRONG Voucher! 

I couldn’t believe I made that mistake. ME. Someone who is so detail-oriented. But there I was, being superwoman, doing too much at once, and this was the result that bit me in the ass. I was even a little hesitant to share this error online because this is so unlike me. But the thing about TMI is that this is also helping me get out of my comfort zone more in order to help someone else on their self-growth journey. 

So you may be thinking, what happened next? What did I do?

Well, I utilized my other top skill and immediately searched my brain for a solution to problem solve. In tough times, my mom always reminds me, “Don’t let this defeat you.” So, I did my best and was able to get them to honor my 2024 voucher which they said they typically don’t do, and they said another agent will call me to book the trip. Unfortunately, however, they don’t call on weekends so unless they call on Monday, that trip ain’t getting booked before the credit expires. 

Coming to this realization made me feel annoyed, sad, angry, and so low.

Out of frustration, I cried at my mistake that could’ve been avoided had I paid more attention. 

But I didn’t dare let myself stay in a defeated sense of being. As an emotional Projector in Human Design, I allowed myself to feel my wave of emotions then decided not to stay there any longer. I chucked up the idea that this may not happen in time and suggested a backup option to my husband for us to pick someplace else to stay for a few days without the voucher.

As you can see, Jeff was was super understanding of course about my mistake and I was so grateful. He had some work to do so I had texted him an apology for my screw up and he responded so kindly and in a very real way lol.

Screenshots from my husband’s video: Jeff surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for my long week and mishap.

Feeling blessed to receive these surprise flowers! The card included beautiful (made me tear up words) and was signed by my thoughtful husband and adorable daughter. This is LOVE. I love them so much 💚💐

Honestly, I still can’t believe I effed up like this though but here we are.

I had to move forward.

This is what I did to switch my mindset to handle my mistake and if you find yourself feeling down about an error you can do this too.

Step 1

Acknowledge that what’s done is done. 

Not exactly inspiring but it’s what real. There’s no turning back the clock so all there is, is to accept what happened, without judgement, and move forward. You might feel angry, you may feel sad, you may feel embarrassed so allow your emotions to show up in times of upset and give yourself permission to let them flow. 

Step 2 

Let your emotions settle 

Show yourself some self-compassion and engage in a mindfulness practice like meditation, Emotional Freedom Technique aka EFT, journaling, listening to gospel music or a mood settling genre, or shoot, just take a nap lol. Don’t knock something as simple as a nap to help you feel better about a situation.

Step 3 

Come up with a solution with a more level head

If you can’t make a solid solution driven decision about your mistake right after it happens, take your time. Come back to it after you’ve regulated your emotions. 

Step 4 

Reframe this mistake as an opportunity to learn

We are human. We all make mistakes. When this happens, ask yourself, “What can I learn from this mistake?” How can this mistake make me stronger, wiser, or better?”

Making mistakes is not a fun feeling. But making mistakes is a part of life. I was reminded of the weight of making mistakes today and it gave me an opportunity to show myself some self-compassion, forgive myself, and heal from the error of my ways.

I hope these 4 Steps help you on your journey too. Sending love to you if you’ve been dealing with a mistake you’ve made. You can get past this ✨💚

Say this to yourself, out loud or in your mind, 3 times

Say it as though you mean it + feel it in your body.

“I love myself even when I make mistakes. I am human. I can get past this. ”

With love and positivity,

XO,

Kelley Green Johnson

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