I hesitate to count the times in my life and career that I’ve “messed up” – made a poor decision, said the wrong thing, been wasteful, hurtful or careless. Most of it was (honestly) without malintent, but rather (again, honestly) from a lack of awareness, of presence or consideration.
Fortunately, life is composed of “do-overs”. The other day during my quiet time I heard, “What I do next is what counts.” An apology for a wrongdoing, an admittance of a mistake or a recompense for injury can make the difference between building stronger relationships and trust or a breakdown of both. What usually gets in the way is my pride.
There is something attractive about quarreling and retaliation. The need to “be right” sometimes outweighs my need to get along. My defensiveness is deep-rooted and often unconscious. I’m working to understand what has me hard-wired that way.
Our world seems quick to judge and condemn as if that makes us feel better about our broken selves. I can sometimes get infected with that condition. There is relief in explaining our broken character by the fall of Adam. For me that is a reason, not an excuse, for poor behavior. I am tasked with overcoming that fallen state through understanding my human and divine nature and working toward the person God created me to be.
That change begins with my feeling remorse, accepting or extending forgiveness, ingesting humility, swallowing my pride and doing the next right thing. It’s a process and takes continual, conscious effort. Thank God, literally, for redemption.
Before becoming a Convene Chair, Joe gained thirty years of business experience in the construction and real estate development industries. After gaining much knowledge he started his own construction company, growing the business from a specialized subcontracting business into multiple entities.