I made an appointment to have lunch with a person I didn’t know; it was a business meeting with someone who might become a new client. I did have reason to believe that she might not show up, as she had cancelled and reset appointments in the past. However, she didn’t cancel this time. Foolishly, I left home for the restaurant without her telephone number, and without confirming with her that morning.
I arrived about 10 minutes before our scheduled meeting. While I sat at the restaurant waiting, where I could see the front door, I experienced a myriad of thoughts and emotions. There were the normal trepidations about meeting someone I didn’t know. A woman walked in who appeared to be looking for someone. I asked her, but she wasn’t the person I was waiting for. I felt foolish.
As time passed and I realized she was late, I started berating myself for not bringing her phone number with me. As the time got even later, I berated myself for not confirming with her.
I decided to order my own lunch, since I still needed to eat. As I told the waiter I was not going to wait for the other party, I was embarrassed. What would he think about me? Then I recognized that I was not using the tools I had learned in the Process.
As I ate my lunch quietly, I began to think clearly. The part that was my fault was not confirming our date, and not bringing her contact information with me. The rest of it I could let go. My feelings about myself do not reside in how this person treated me. It did not reflect on me, my personality, or my worth as a human being that this woman had stood me up. I was able to drop all the negatives, and take care of myself.
By the end of my lunch, my self esteem was intact once again. I was not in pain, distressed, or depressed. I was not angry. I had eaten a nice lunch and went on with my day. As to the client, my inner response was “Next!” and I moved on. And no, I did not follow up with her. A person who could stand up someone for a lunch date was not a client I wanted.