DJ: Good bosses forgive, but they don’t forget. You’re still new to the role and to the company, so it’s completely normal to feel frustrated. You’re still figuring out office dynamics and managing expectations. But learning to deal with frustration professionally is essential, especially early in your career.

My suggestion? Have a one-on-one with your boss. Admit what happened. Show that you have learned from the situation. Express your commitment to doing better next time. These kinds of conversations are very helpful and can really help smooth things over. I’m also glad you recognize that emotions, while totally valid, are something we need to deal with on our own. As cliché as it sounds, whatever the trigger, you are ultimately responsible for how you respond to it.

There is no need to fix everything right away. This is something I would also say to my younger ones. As you progress in your career, you’ll realize that you don’t have to express all of your frustrations in the moment. Some issues are best discussed one-on-one or later when emotions are not running high.

As a beginner, developing emotional intelligence is essential. This involves being aware of your own emotions, managing them effectively, understanding the emotions of others and managing your reaction to them as well. Pay attention to your reactions and ask yourself what is causing this? Developing coping mechanisms for your emotions will help you stay calm.

Would you believe I still have some of the notes I wrote in “Post Its” when I was struggling to deal with my reactions to a peer’s behavior when I was around your age? One thing I learned early on is that reframing my thoughts really helped me. Instead of jumping to conclusions, like thinking something isn’t right, I ask myself if I have all the information I need. If I feel misunderstood, I wait to react until I can get clarification or work out the details. These are just a few techniques. I am sure you will encounter more if you decide to pursue professional coaching.

Also observe the company culture. Now that I’m a leader, I view situations like this as part of growing up. I believe that when leaders are able to overcome their mistakes, it helps create a vibrant and successful business. While I don’t view deliberate failure as an option, trying too hard to avoid mistakes can mean taking no risks when it comes to change. The best message is that honest mistakes can be forgiven. But that’s just my point of view.

Evaluate the situation. It’s not a bad idea to quietly look for new opportunities. But I suggest you give it some time and see how it goes. As you develop, you will probably also find that things seem much worse in the moment than they actually are.

No matter what, failure can suck, but it also teaches. Lessons learned the hard way are the ones we are least likely to forget. You can charge this to experiment, forgive yourself and move on. And like any good boss, never forget. Discovering the moves that don’t work well always comes with discovering the moves that are working. Ultimately, life never asked us to not make any mistakes. Our only request is to never forget so that we stop doing the same things.