Day 435 MayDoodle Salty

May Doodle

My CLmooc friends doodle every day. May’s prompts are from Rachelle at TinkerLab — #tinkerlab. 

Salty is an interesting word, and that is today’s prompt: we feel that way when sometimes what we thought was true, wasn’t, and we grow a bit in the reflection on it.

We’re not perfect.  Sometimes we’re wrong. Sometimes, we may be a bit salty in our response. Sometimes, we need to take a deep breath, admit and accept our misstep, and move on, a better person.

Some quotes I found for salty and wrong:

• You can learn a lot from your mistakes when you aren’t busy denying them.
• A salty quote from a salty person: Life goes by fast. Enjoy it. Calm down. It’s all funny. Next. Everyone gets so upset about the wrong things. Joan Rivers
• Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave. Mary Tyler Moore

A Reflection on “Salty” and “Wrong:

Yesterday’s prompt was wrong, and my encouragement was to “Be You.” It’s one thing to be creative and unique; it’s another to intrude on others and their creativity and uniqueness. And sometimes, we push back when it would be better to let it go.

I found in my work that male ideas often took the fore, even from men just starting in the field. It’s frustrating. Yet, stepping back and choosing one’s actions is always better. Encouraging others is better. I even took a class on “dealing with difficult people” once because how do you stand up for your ideas in ways that don’t seem “salty” or “aggressive” [although a man saying the same words would be consider savvy and assertive, but that’s another discussion]. 

The thing about getting older is, you learn that it’s better to wait and verify than need to be wrong and apologize later. Stay on the goal, not taking things as personal. Asking, “Did you mean this…” really helps clarify and find common ground. Everyone has their own context and perspective; getting through those to find a way through brings ideas into a workable focus as we gain understanding.

Still, there have been times I’ve had to hold up my hands and say, “Stop.” — because the voices at hand were ignoring others, talking past others, and not listening for the common ground.

Being human, working together, is not easy: we must stay in the conversation and be gentle with each other, patiently listening to all voices and ideas.

I’m not sure what we do with the toxic atmosphere of today’s world, with so many focused on conspiracy and not considered conversations. I do know that things pass— remember that and stay in conversations, looking for the ways that bring people together.

And, if you ever need to admit you were wrong, here’s a Psychology Today article: How to Admit You’re Wrong. Every one is wrong sometimes. It’s Ok.

MayDoodle  #clmooc #salty #wrong #motivation #funwithfigures #funwithfaces  #tinkerlab