Embarrassing moments

A friend of mine was at the grocery store with her two small children. She had them in one of those unwieldy giant carts shaped like a car. As children often do, especially in public places, they began to bicker and annoy each other.

When my friend leaned down to break up the fighting, she failed to notice a large wine display directly in front of her cart. Of course, she ran right into the back of it, knocking several bottles of wine to the floor where they smashed in a glorious mess in the center of the aisle.

The people that were in the vicinity took one look at the blood red puddle on the floor and ran the other direction. Grocery store employees flocked over moments later, barking at my friend to "BACK AWAY!"

This is exactly how it feels when our ideas are met with rejection. It's embarrassing. Mortifying. Often, we get no support from people around us, and others are encouraging us to throw in the towel and back away.

But really - what's the worst that can happen? No one that I know of has ever died or even been physically injured by embarrassment. Even though I'm sure many have wished it. You can live through the discomfort.

What did my friend do after the wine incident? She held her head high and finished her shopping. She needed groceries after all.

When you get rejected, brush it off and finish your shopping.