How to overcome an embarrassing moment
You know that feeling when you’ve done or said something embarrassing that you instantly regret? When your cheeks flush with colour and you wish the ground would swallow you up to save you from your embarrassment…Yes? Well we do too! The truth is everyone makes mistakes or has embarrassing moments from time to time – everyone – so follow our handy tips to overcoming embarrassment.
One of our favourite quotes is this: “In every mistake there is a potential for growth.” This means that mistakes and embarrassing moments shouldn’t be something to feel negative about – quite the opposite – as every mistake you make can be learned from. It’s all part of growing up and gaining life experience, so next time you feel embarrassed try to turn it into a positive life lesson.
Acknowledge your embarrassment
The worst thing you can do is to try to ignore it if something embarrassing has happened to you. If the incident is big enough to make you feel embarrassment then it’s likely other people may have noticed too. So own it and be the first one to point it out, giving you back control of the situation. It’s the same if you’ve made a mistake – it’s best to own up to it if you’ve made a mistake as its easier for people to forgive and forget.
Have a sense of humour
This leads us onto our next point: laugh about it! When you embarrass yourself the worst thing you can is take yourself too seriously, as it will make others around you feel uncomfortable and will only increase that isolating feeling of embarrassment. If you think about it too, it was probably quite funny, so if you laugh at yourself it invites others to laugh with you.
Admit you were embarrassed
Sharing your embarrassing moment with other people can help you to overcome the shame you felt. It can also help you to connect with others as they’ll have felt this way at some point in their lives too. If you ask your friends or parents they’ll probably have embarrassing stories to share with you!
Turn your embarrassing moment into a great story
Think about the funny side of your embarrassing moment and use this to turn it into a funny story. Embarrassing moments make for some of the best stories so work out a way to tell yours in an amusing way and you’ll have people entertained for years to come!
Read about a kitesurfer’s girl “walk of shame” moment here.
