As imperfect humans, we all make mistakes. Some of these mistakes are minor and some are very serious. But some mistakes could make you want to say, “Boy, that was plain stupid,” or “What was I thinking?” Some mistakes could cause you to really be hard on yourself. How could I ever recover mentally from this mistake? How could I learn from it and just move on? Here are some helpful pointers I found online in doing so.
One interesting word of advice I found out in learning from your mistakes is to consider reflecting on them. This doesn’t involve constantly dwelling on them. Rather, it means taking the time to briefly analyze them. According to www.forbes.com, under the article entitled, “5 Ways to Turn Your Mistake into a Valuable Life Lesson,” the writer Amy Morin recommends that we list for ourselves three tough questions such as, “What went wrong?,” “What could I do better next time?,” or “What did I learn from this?” By writing down your answers to these questions, you will be able to think more logically about your past experience.
Once you answer these questions, you will have to make a plan about how to do better next time. Be sure to be detailed in your overall plan, but have a willingness to adjust it. By making a plan, this will help you to avoid making the same mistake repeatedly. You will also be holding yourself accountable for your actions.
The last piece of advice that stood out to me from the Forbes article is to try creating a list of reasons why you don’t want to make that mistake again. This list will serve as a reminder to you why you should never revisit that mistake. It will help you stay self-disciplined, especially during the tough times. The article brings up an excellent fact that self-discipline is like a muscle. Each time you use it to make a healthy choice in life, you grow mentally stronger.
Let’s face it-mistakes, no matter how big or small, are a part of life. But you don’t have to dwell on them forever. You could use them as life lessons to help you grow in wisdom and become mentally stronger. For more information on the article, “5 Ways to Turn Your Mistake into a Valuable Life Lesson,” visit www.forbes.com.
