Ghosted

Colleagues,

MVP: Don’t make up stories to explain things you don’t understand. 👻

Bullet point version of the story:

• Did a session for a state leadership organization
  
• Tried to follow up with the organizer afterwards:
  
  • Did not respond to my texts
    
  • Did not respond to my emails
    
• Reflected and identified a “mistake” I made that could, theoretically, explain the ghosting
  
• Spent the next six months beating myself up over the mistake
  
• Reached out again – six months later (because I am stubborn) – and received an immediate apologetic and warm reply expressing a desire to meet and catch up
  

I beat myself up for six months because I invented a story to explain something I didn’t understand.

In the absence of information, we make stuff up. Worse still, what we make up often reflects our worst insecurities.

Two lessons:

1. Don’t make stuff up.
   
2. Give people enough information that they don’t need to make stuff up.
   

Cheers!

Frederick