Most embarrassing moments become funny stories in about five years. Just skip ahead and laugh a little now.

Time converts humiliation into anecdote, and the conversion is mostly perspective rather than healing. In five years the moment is smaller because your life will hold more things and the audience will have forgotten completely. Knowing the destination lets you get there sooner, at least partly. Laughing early is a shortcut across the same distance.

Tell the story to one person you trust and watch whether they find it funny. Notice how little of it they carry away with them. The sooner you can hold it lightly, the shorter the whole thing lasts.