I'm feeling guilty today. The funny thing is . . . I shouldn't. Every Tuesday, like clockwork, I attend my networking/sales team meeting with approximately 50 people.
It's called BNI (Business Networking International), a worldwide organization where businesspeople meet to learn about their services and deliver hot referrals (CLIENTS) each week. I find it powerful for my business (it delivers 40-45% of my clients each year) and wouldn't miss it for the world. In fact, if you have a business or a product to sell, BNI is THE place to go to increase your bottom line.
What happened?
Today, I'm missing my weekly meeting. I had to double-book a client over my meeting and could not schedule it for any other time this week. They HAD to meet at this time. And I did ALL the right things a BNI member should do:
I notified the leadership team of my absence.
I replace my open spot for the week with a great substitute who will do my commercial.
I let the visitor host team know of my sub so they could list them on our weekly roster.
And I did it all on-time, prior to our meeting.
I still feel guilty. I feel that I'm letting my colleagues down even though I've taken all the steps to ensure my absence is covered this week. Why do I feel guilty?
I feel like I'm letting my BNI colleagues down.
I feel that I'm missing out on something good.
That regular burst of enthusiasm I receive from attending will not be there this week.
Honestly, I shouldn't feel guilty. NOT ONE BIT. Why? Guilt is all about the PAST. And guess what? There's nothing I can do about it. NOTHING. It's in the past.
I've made a decision, I've prepared my absence — I've taken all the steps to ensure I shouldn't feel guilt about missing my meeting. So it's time to confront my guilt and realize I have to live in the present and move on from this 'fake' feeling. Why?
It's holding me back — I'm focusing on something that really doesn't matter.
I'm expending mental and physical energy towards a belief that is not true.
I'm not focusing on the present or planning for the future. This is where I can make serious progress towards my goals.
So the next time you feel GUILTY, remember it's all in the past and there's nothing you can really do about it. Take that guilt and repurpose its energy into the present and future. You will find yourself working faster, better, and with more enthusiasm.
Guilt is a mechanism for us to remember past mistakes so we don't repeat them — don't let it paralyze you.
I'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR GUILT AT WORK. LET ME KNOW BELOW.