Simple changes for relational success: “When you mess up, fess up”

Happy New Year! A time for looking back to learn from mistakes, and a time to look ahead to better, more fulfilling relationships in 2014!
We are all in relationships: no matter if you are single, married, a parent, or any other walk of life, none of us are islands to ourselves. No matter how your relationships have functioned in the past, I am convinced that by following these truths, new relationship transformation can happen in this New Year!

“When you mess up, fess up.”

We are all going to make mistakes, it will happen.
I was impatient with my daughter just this morning as we were going through the “morning rituals of making…” making lunches, making sure the dog gets outside to do his business (when its -20 below zero), making sure we are all ready to go on time…you know the “making ritual.”
This morning in my brokenness I lost my patience…I messed up. So as soon as it was appropriate, and before we left for the day, I fessed up: “sorry for my impatience, do you forgive me?”
This type of fessing up is a key Truth to any relationship. We are going to make mistakes, we are humans. The mistakes are actually the constant in life. The variable is what are we going to do with the mistakes we make.
This first truth to new relationships tells us we need to seek forgiveness, and then try to learn from our mistakes.
I asked forgiveness from my daughter, and I will try harder tomorrow morning to take some deep breaths and remind myself that yes it is busy in the morning, but it won’t help the situation by me loosing my patience. With God’s grace I can do better.
How about your life? Are you in the habit of fessing up with your messing up? If not, please start today, and see if it doesn’t transform your relationships!
>> Next, Simple Change #2: “Using the ‘F’ Word“