How Could I Be So Stupid?

There's a reason I don't keep my own calendar.  Clients, other attorneys and my doctors think it's funny when I say I'm not allowed to set my own appointments.  Sad thing is, that it's not a joke.   The reason I'm not allowed to set any appointments is that I can remember my client's children's names, the facts of their case, the other attorney and the applicable case law.  I can also walk and chew gum at the same time, and balance my own check book.  I can't, however, remember to write down (correctly) an appointment.  The result is that I tend to schedule myself in two places at once.  Now, we can add plane reservations to the list of things I can't schedule.   Months ago, I made reservations to go see daughter and parents.  I wrote down the date of the reservation.  Problem is, I wrote down the wrong day. Then, I set in a mediation for....(you got it) the same day I was supposed to fly out of here, and at the same time.  I didn't realize it until tonight when I checked my reservation.  Then I emailed everyone else to see if we can meet on other dates, and volunteered to change the flight.  Then... I realized I read the reservation wrong (it is late at night, after all), and my flight is at night, so there is no conflict.  So, I emailed everyone back to tell them to ignore my first email.  My mistake,  my fault, and I owned up to it immediately and directly.  It's hard admitting you made such a stupid mistake.  I'm the lawyer.  I fix problems; I don't make them.  I hate looking dumb and being wrong.
Isn't this just like our clients here in the Trenches?  When they are in the Trenches with us, our clients are at their most vulnerable.  They're in unfamiliar territory.  Every decision they make has repercussions for the rest of their lives.  The consequences of making a bad decision are huge.  Yet, we know also that our clients are not really thinking their most clearly while they're in the Trenches.  They are flooded with emotion and tend to react first and think later.  That means that, like me and my plane reservations, our clients sometimes make decisions without thinking things through or having all the facts.  Then, they have to admit they made a mistake and try to fix it.  How that works for them depends on a lot of factors.   What forum are they in - litigation or collaboration?  How antagonistic is their situation?  Can their attorney or coach help them disclose in a way that minimizes any damage and helps them save face?  It's not a fun situation, because no one likes to be wrong, but it has to be fixed.  Hopefully, we can make that happen in a constructive manner - here in the Trenches.