Learning from Mistakes
Learning from mistakes and having the self discipline not to repeat those same mistakes is where your opportunity is to grow into a wiser human being and to use the lessons learned to move on to success.
None of us are saints. We all make mistakes from time to time. We all succumb to the Cardinal Sins at least a handful of times in our lives, most often when we are young and dumb, when our egos are growing proportionate to our puberty succumbed bodies, but as we get older, making mistakes becomes much less forgiving.
Life and living is a delicate art form. It only takes the most minuscule, seemingly irrelevant event to tip the balance into chaos. This is what makes living so interesting though, never knowing what is going to happen today, tomorrow or next week. Living is definitely not for the weak-hearted. With every choice we make, there is a possible wrong decision to be made, and with an entire lifetime as one big series of choices, there are a lot of potential mistakes and bad / wrong decisions / choices to be made! Seeing it like this, it has to be assumed that it is inevitable that at some stage of our adult lives we will make mistakes and probably a lot of them, but learning from mistakes and knowing how to refocus on our goals to keep moving is where the key to our successes and happiness lay.
Learning from mistakes is taking full responsibility for our actions, being humble enough to recognize our faults and not blaming the mistakes on other people, regardless of how true you feel it is. It is important that we recognize our part in the problem even if the ultimate misdoing lay at the hands of someone else. For some people this can be difficult because admitting wrong-doing, however minor, threatens their egoic self-perception making them feel less of a person, but if we can see past our own ego, we realize that this is not true. Recognizing our wrong-doings and taking responsibility by apologizing and making amends makes for a very humble person, one who simply knows that mistakes are bound to happen and that there is a lesson to be learned in every mistake. If you are at anyway at fault, to share your blame with others by pointing the finger is perceived by others subconsciously as weak and cowardly. Though it is difficult to believe sometimes, most people are not stupid, when you take sole responsibility for your mistakes without pointing your finger and trying to share the blame with others, people will soon still see the bigger picture and come to realize on their own accord that the blame may not lay entirely on you. When they realize this, own their terms and without direction from you, and once the anger and accountability stage has passed, not only will your humbleness be appreciated but you will also be a breath of fresh air in a world where the blame-game is common practice and will ultimately gain their respect because you demonstrated strong and disciplined characteristics in an awkward and unpleasant situation. A happy ending.
Learning from mistakes is recognizing what you did wrong, contemplating the situation until you realize what you should have done, apologizing and having the self discipline to make sure the mistake never happens again, but this is difficult if the mistake is related to your behavior and emotional responses to situations. If you have a tendency to overreact and get angry at the slightest thing, then you are going to keep making a lot of mistakes and probably keep upsetting a lot of people in your lifetime until you make a conscious effort to address your behavioral and emotional issues which may, or may not, require professional help.
Sometimes we make mistakes that need no apologies, but learning from the mistake is still needed. These mistakes are personal and only effect us. Perhaps a poor judgment, or a rash decision with unwanted consequences. Learning from mistakes like these is as simple as understanding and appreciating the dynamics around the situation, where we went wrong and promising ourselves that we will not let history repeat.
The best way of learning from mistakes, is to learn from others mistakes. Be attentive about what others are doing, ask questions, follow those who are successful and analyze what actions they made to become successful and understand their mistakes and setbacks so to try to avoid them.
Ultimately, everyone makes mistakes, so everyone should be forgiven as long as they are sincerely remorseful, but if you forgive and the mistakes keep happening, then no one is learning from mistakes and they might be taking advantage of your forgiving nature. If this is the case, you need to be wise to it and strong enough to walk away from the situation, or at least put a stop to it. It’s your life, it’s your judgment call.
Remember, wise people learn from their mistakes, fools repeat them.
What is your view on this? Share your thoughts and experiences below in the comments section.
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