I was only helping somebody when. . .

I am sharing this story with you this week as I know some of you struggle with the issue this tale highlights: being socially embarrassed can be very painful to experience.

Now, I know, I have a big sunny personality and it is hard to imagine underneath I am really shy! I really don’t like to be the centre of attention. Therefore, this week when I was helping someone out by taking their old wardrobe to the dump for them, I felt very uncomfortable.

As you know, I often put my keys around my neck not to lose them and keep my hands free. I was reaching over the rail to put a piece of the wardrobe into the wood container, my keys caught on the rail, the safety catch designed to give way so you can’t be chocked - gave way. My car and house keys slide down between the container and the raised walk way. There was no way of retrieving them. The chaps who worked there had to stop what they doing, fetch the lifting mechanism for pulling the container out and organise the safe retrieval of my keys. Now, that would have not been so bad on its own. However, the BBC were filming the recycling program Money for Nothing at the time and they had to stop filming and the people coming to the dump had to be stopped as they moved the vehicle and container around. I managed to inconvenience three different groups of people!

Now, what can we do when we find ourselves in such embarrassing situations? The first thing to do is to remind ourselves that we cannot control what other people do or say, but we can control how we respond. We have the power to choose how we are going to respond, thus that is the second thing to do – choose! I choose to be positive! I did have to tell myself - I had not deliberately done this. I know, I went very red and I did feel very uncomfortable. Nevertheless, I put on my best smile and apologies for causing the delay and thanked them for their patience.

I have thought about the event over the last few days and the uncomfortable embarrassment feeling is wearing off. The final thing to do is to stop it becoming an issue, where it stops you going places or doing things. The best way to do this is to laugh about it. So, I am sharing it with you, this way you can laugh with me about the day I brought the recycling centre to a standstill!