Some of the blog posts I'd gotten a couple days ago are right on the spot.

It deals with rejection from where there was once a fairly close friendship. This is an area where I fail most miserably.

In a nutshell, it's letting others control me. I don't mean being put to work. What I do mean is letting the actions of others control how I'm going to handle it.

It is never nice when you say something you mean well in saying but it backfires and you get shown the door instead.

It has happened here, and I'm sure it isn't uncommon.

All it takes is one or two misplaced words and you can lose the hard-earned respect in the blink of an eye.

It can be anything. In my case, I usually find myself trying to contribute something and it could be that I'm not respected when I say something that gets me manhandled out of the room because I formed my words wrong (that has happened a times, esp. when I was younger.)

But it can happen here or anywhere at that. I admit, I let the actions of other, actions I have no control over, affect my work.

I am now ten articles behind on my own schedule because I let an incident control that rather than doing what athletes do ...unless it is life-threatening or otherwise very serious, normal work should go on.

This doesn't only apply to lost friendships, but just about anything life can throw at us.

I am a very sensitive person. I tend to wear things on my shoulders rather than on my sleeve. I had it coming at me from both here and outside at once a few days ago. I said something in here that offended someone and lost that friendship. It was totally unintentional and has been bothering me since I found myself shut out.

This isn't the time to be fretting over things I have no control over. I worked my last day in the job that has been supporting me through. I was videotaping the work I was doing on yet another job Friday. The person having me work with him totally freaked out because I was recording with my GoPro camera. The business and personal relationship with my landlord has dropped off. All of this was going on at the time I gave my contribution here that got me blocked. So, overbearing as it was, I broke under it.

About my personality, I can't really apologize for because I'd be apologizing for my very existence. I am who I am and trying to learn how to socialize properly.

Albeit, the worst thing to do in a situation like this is to drop the important things needing done. I have done this and am guilty of it. Now the initial shock is past and it's time to put it behind and get back to my work like some have strongly suggested.

Mind you, a lot of issues are going on outside as I continually deal with money issues, etc. As for getting around people who are suffering in some way, that I have not mastered. I don't always say the right things in these kind of situations and it is not only awkward to me, but the person who is suffering. It makes me a poor candidate for doing the encouraging because I don't always come up with the right things to say.

Trying to delve into an area where one is incompetent can have devastating effects as I have seen. I saw that in the job I was doing as well when I attempted to use equipment I knew nothing about and could have sent a wooden stud airborne. Fortunately that didn't happen, but it certainly puts me on a much lower level of respect with the person whom I was helping.

There are simply some areas where I need to be silent and simply stay out of it. I'm not always ready for the outcome, as has been the case this time around, and lost about two days of solid production on my campaigns.

In situations like that, I will be silent, but areas where I can help out will not be effected.

The moral here is that the best of writers are not immune to making a statement at the wrong time ...or offending with carelessly-placed words. I'm not putting myself on a pedestal for being a good writer, simply what others say of me. This stuff still crops up in my life, but seemingly not as much as it used to. I think, a lot of that comes from simply minding my own business, like I'm often told to do.

If I had better charisma and having done more things that average people do in life, I might have more of a license to speak about a particular thing. This has been my handicap and I've been here two and one-half years not only learning Internet marketing, but far more over, learning how to communicate effectively.

I know where I still need improvement.

• I know that the athlete who will not go out to train when it's raining will not make the grade.
• The apprentice who has his eye on the goal will get through that rain.
• The warrior who forgets his shield perishes. The warrior who is using his is protected.
• That's also what armour is for.