Im somebody who doesn’t generally lose things, misplace sometimes, but losing items is rare.
I still use cheap wired headphones bc they work for me on the most part. Few months ago, I couldn’t find my headphones when I knew I was wearing it while in the back of the car on a ride to somewhere. I realized that I probably had them somewhere near me or on my lap and maybe it fell while I got out of the car. Trying to learn my lesson, I found a pouch and kept the wires in my backpack so I can remember better.
Then yesterday we had to go somewhere on a long trip and I was in a rush so didn’t bother keeping the pouch with me. Even mentally remembered hey yeah remember to not misplace this. But then in the car I was listening then distracted by other things and think I did the same thing again. On the ride back, I couldn’t find my headphones anywhere.
They’re cheap (like less than $20) but I haven’t been able to stop feeling bad about it. I don’t even know why. I wish I had just looked before leaving the car or getting out of the parking lot but it didn’t occur to me even second time around.
It’s a small thing for some reason I don’t know why my brain makes it a big deal?!
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I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve done something like this. And I’m extremely diligent about remembering things but I’ve even set a reminder for myself or added something to a list and still forgotten about it. I tend to beat myself up too but I remind myself that I’m human and these things just happen no matter how prepared you try to be.
Congratulate yourself on being the type of individual who does not take your possessions for granted.
Acknowledge the fact you are human and can make mistakes once in a while.
Now treat yourself to a new pair.
Pretend that someone walking in that area you lost them came across them and thought “wow! free headphones!” and now are enjoying them instead of ending up crushed up in some landfill. Since you can’t do much about the situation, might as well dream up the best case scenario and just roll with it. I get very attached to my things, even if they are old and dated… so I understand that your brain can just run away with it emotionally sometimes.
My first reaction has always been to laugh. If I drop something, walk into things , trip, or leave something non-valuable somewhere, there’s not much I can do about it other than laugh at the small stuff.
I will admit though that if I drop something like 3+ times, it starts to become a lot less funny lol
I am so much more of a mess, if I was getting upset over 20 dollars I would be killing myself over the other stuff
Good rule of thumb though, would you beat up someone else for doing that? If not, then why yourself?
Not to medicalize everything but in my experience, this is a symptom of anxiety. And knowing that means I can use the tools I have to lessen my anxiety in situations like this. Things like journaling to get my thoughts out and helps see things objectively so it feels like less of a big deal. Or doing deep breathing exercises until I feel better.
(real talk I still struggle with this and often throw it all out the window to just wallow in the shame lol)
I can relate to this. I’m really organized and it’s very rare that I lose or misplace anything, so when I do, I get upset more than is warranted. I realized that for me, the reason I’m feeling upset is because it’s a loss of control and feeling disorganized. I’ve tried to be better at putting it into perspective- the losses don’t happen often, or is a small price value that is not worth getting so upset about it. I’ve also had to remind myself that losing or misplacing something does not make me a failure. Hope that helps
Do you have anxiety? I think this is a mental health struggle, not something that can be solved with “be kind to yourself” type quips.