Awkward moments are a part of life, and they happen to the best of us. But during the actual experience, it would be understandable to want to crawl into a hole and not come out for the next six months.
This woman knows this feeling all too well. She was kind enough to share her story about meeting a CEO for the first time during a work function and mistakenly assuming she was pregnant.
The worst part about this situation is that our author may have blown a potential networking opportunity. In an attempt to overcome the sheer embarrassment, she turned to the TIFU subreddit for some answers.
It’s normal to experience an occasional awkward moment
Image credits: PNW Production / pexels (not the actual photo)
But for the woman in this story, the embarrassing situation involved a potential business venture
Image credits: katemangostar / freepik (not the actual photo)
She felt immediate regret for possibly offending the other person and losing a networking opportunity
Image credits: LustLounge
There are upsides to an awkward situation
You can't help but feel for the author after she endured those grating minutes. But if you ask experts, awkward situations add value to our lives.
As University of Virginia psychology professor Bethany Teachman explained in an interview with U.S. News, these comical misfortunes also help us absorb proper social cues and motivate us to avoid repeating the same mistake.
However, they also have a downside. For author and John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor Joshua Clegg, Ph.D., it can cause some people to steer clear of social situations with a high chance of debilitating awkwardness, such as first dates or, in the author's case, networking events.
"These experiences can become central to a self-perpetuating pattern of social fear and avoidance," Clegg said in the same interview.
Reframing is the best way to deal with awkwardness
Teachman describes an awkward situation as "an incongruence" between the actual situation and our perception of what should happen. We tend to overlook and even exaggerate the reality of what is in front of us.
"The trick is deciding how meaningful they are and how much they're getting in the way for you," she explains.
If necessary, Teachman advises questioning whether you're accurate about the gravity of your situation. In the case of the woman in the story, did the CEO think less of her? And if that were true, does that automatically mean the worst has come?
Reframing a mindset is easier said than done and requires practice. But hopefully, the executive simply laughed it off without ruining the author's chances of getting a networking opportunity.
What do you think, dear readers?
The author added more details to her account as some commenters shared their advice and personal experiences
