UnknownOk, here we go again with the big confessions. I am a language bully. There, I’m glad I got that off my back. I’m hoping a new chapter of LBA (Language Bullies Anonymous) will open up in my neighbourhood as bullying is something up with which I shall not put.

For years I have corrected people who end their sentences with prepositions. I have pronounced ‘schedule’ with a soft ‘ch’, the way it should be pronounced. I take pride that when I say tissue or issue it sounds like i’m using a real ‘s’ instead of an ‘sh.’ Tuesday sounds exotic.

These are immaterial things but symptoms of a bigger problem, and that problem is an inability to tolerate mistakes in others. For some reason I have an innate desire to correct people when they make mistakes. (You should hear my son and I when we get together and attempt to out-correct each other.)

Part of being a leader is tolerating honest mistakes as learning experiences. While I seem to be able to do this on larger scale issues, (please imagine how I would have said that word), I become very pedantic regarding immaterial errors. I must drive people nuts.

We have weeks throughout the year dedicated to special issues such as National Love Your Dog Week. I think we should have a week called ‘Just Let It Go Week.’ We could all practice not being irritated by things which in the grand scheme of things are not material. And we could practice tolerance in the failures of others.