How to Deal With Embarrassment: I Accidentally Sent an Email That Looked Like I Called a Client an A$s

Today, I made a fairly impressive mistake. Not a tiny oops or a simple wrong attachment kind of mistake, but a full-body cringe, nervous-system-clenching, dear-God-let-me-go-live-in-the-woods type of mistake. If you have ever wondered how to deal with embarrassment after doing something deeply mortifying, welcome. Pull up a chair. Apparently, we are doing this together.

It was late, almost 2:00 AM, and I was exhausted. Somewhere between trying to finish work and surviving toddler life, my daughter had gotten hold of my laptop earlier in the day. At the time, I thought nothing of it — just a few random button presses and standard toddler chaos. What I did not realize was that those tiny hands had apparently made some very creative edits while my email was open.

Much later that night, running on fumes and questionable judgment after my daughter finally went to bed around 10:00 PM, I sat down to finish emails. One went out to a potential client. The beginning looked perfectly normal and professional — three polite lines about a proposal — and then suddenly, sitting there in the middle of the message, was the word “a$s,” followed by what looked like a keyboard having a complete emotional breakdown: “bbbbffdsz.”

I wish I were kidding. I stared at my screen in horror. You know that moment when your entire body goes hot, your stomach drops, and your nervous system quietly decides it cannot participate in today anymore? That moment where your soul briefly leaves your body and considers starting over somewhere remote.

Naturally, I tried to recall the email. Too late. Already read. Also, respectfully, why are people awake reading emails at 2:00 AM? Truly. Why are we all here?

For several dramatic minutes, I entered what I can only describe as the Mortification Spiral — the place where your brain immediately starts producing an Oscar-worthy disaster film. They think I am wildly unprofessional. They hate me. This will ruin everything. I should probably move to another country. Underneath all of that, though, was something familiar: shame, embarrassment, that tight feeling in your chest where you suddenly feel twelve years old and deeply uncool.

How to Deal With Embarrassment After a Cringe-Worthy Mistake

But after the panic settled, I realized something important: embarrassing things happen. Human things happen. Sometimes you wave at someone who was not waving at you, trip in public, or replay an awkward moment in your head for years. And apparently, sometimes your toddler accidentally sends an email that makes it look like you casually called a potential client an a$s. Life humbles all of us eventually.

When it does, I think there are a few things worth remembering when learning how to deal with embarrassment:

1. Breathe. Not because breathing magically fixes everything, but because shame convinces our nervous system that discomfort is danger. When we pause and take a breath, we give ourselves just enough space to remember that a mistake is not a life sentence.

   
   

2. Own what you can own. I apologized — simply, honestly, and without overexplaining. Most of the time, that is all we need to do; a clean apology usually lands better than a dramatic explanation.

   
   

3. Stop trying to control what you cannot control. This one is especially hard for perfectionists, people-pleasers, and overthinkers. I cannot control how someone responds to my mistake; I can only control how I respond to it.

Maybe that is true for more things in life than we realize. People misunderstand us. Things go sideways. We embarrass ourselves spectacularly from time to time. But we still get to decide who we are next. Do we collapse into shame? Or do we keep showing up anyway?

Sometimes courage looks polished and impressive. Other times, courage looks like sending an apology email while internally wishing the earth would swallow you whole. Both count.

And if you are currently replaying something awkward, embarrassing, or deeply cringe-worthy in your own mind, I want you to know this: you are still lovable, still professional, still worthy, and still allowed to laugh about it one day — even if today you are emotionally recovering from accidentally emailing the word a$s to another adult.

Life is humbling. Sometimes painfully so. Waddle forward anyway.

About the Author | Day 156

I’m a soul-led coach, writer, mother, and recovering perfectionist currently navigating big transitions, temporary homes, unpacked boxes, busy workdays, toddler chaos, business deadlines, healing, and the beautiful mess of learning how to laugh at life even when it feels wildly humbling.

For 156 straight days, I’ve shown up here — through travel exhaustion, nervous system overwhelm, emotional growth, unexpected tears, funny parenting moments, awkward human experiences, quiet breakthroughs, moments of gratitude, and reminders that healing rarely happens in a straight line. I write for the overthinkers, perfectionists, caregivers, anxious hearts, recovering people-pleasers, exhausted humans, and anyone quietly wondering if they are somehow failing at life.

I believe healing can be gentle, growth can be messy, humor belongs in hard seasons, and sometimes the bravest thing we can do is own the awkward moment, take a deep breath, and keep waddling forward.