The Automatic Pilot Lands in Another Crappy Moment: A Financial Lesson

It was just another crappy moment, but as the cliche goes: I learned a lot. And so goes life with my dog Scruffy, who continues to teach me Zen-like lessons in patience, planning and the dangers of living life on automatic pilot.

Here's the scenario: A little while ago -- at sunset -- I was walking the dog and I ran out of doggy bags during our walk. (TMI) Anyway, when Scruffy (that's him in the photo) headed for a neighbor's yard, I acted like a good citizen. I asked for a plastic bag and cleaned up after my dog. And then stuff really happened. Here's what I learned:

• Don't be smug. Blissed out from my do-good efforts to clean up after my dog, I stopped paying attention to the task at hand. Mindlessly, I let the plastic bag flap in the wind. As such, the bag missed the target, but my hands hit pay dirt. (Don't ask. TMI.) Needless to say, I needed a lot of soap when I returned home. Lesson: Stay focused on money, savings and clean-up efforts. Be mindful. Pay attention to details.


• Don't get angry: Annoyed, I let the leash drop into the mess. As such, one mistake led to another error. Lesson: Misdirected anger just leads to bigger messes in personal, financial and professional matters.


• Don't get lost in regrets. "I'm tired of pulling lessons out of crap." That was my mantra as I walked the dog home. But I was so lost in regrets that I twisted my ankle and almost broke my pretty silk flip-flops from China. (These pretty shoes look like Madame Butterfly meets Surfer Girl). As I tripped over the curb, I realized that in past personal and professional stumbles, I have squandered time, money and effort by banishing myself to purgatory circles of regrets. My target attitude: Stuff happens. Just clean-up and move on.
  
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