DON'T GET MAD, GET GLAD!

As a kid, I can remember commercials for Glad plastic bags. "The Man from Glad" character was super-cool. I also remember a catchy slogan from some other Glad commercials that said, "Don't get mad, get Glad." The story behind the slogan was that instead of getting upset that your cheap plastic bags didn't hold your food properly, you could use Glad plastic bags, and your items would stay securely in place.

This lesson hit me hard, this week, as I canceled two services I subscribed to. With one, I had been a loyal customer for over two years. The reason I canceled the subscriptions is because I didn't think I was getting what I felt was my money's worth from them. I also discovered that I could subscribe to another service, where I wouldn't get the exact same thing, but I would get a much better value for a much smaller monthly charge.

At first, I was really upset with myself, thinking of all the money I wasted on the other services and how I could have used that money for other things, or better yet, how I could have just saved that money. But then it came to me that I got what I perceived to be a great value from those services for the time I had them. I used both services to help me with my personal development and I received great customer service while I had them. Now, I have a new subscription to something that serves my immediate and future needs much better for a much lower price.

The most important lesson learned: Instead of continuously kicking yourself for a mistake you made or lapse in judgment you had, praise yourself for taking control, ridding yourself of what's not working for you, and putting yourself in a more promising situation so that you don't make those same mistakes, again.