Making mistakes is a part of life; it’s what makes us human. The best part of being human, though, is that we can be forgiven. Not just by others, but by ourselves, perhaps the most important type of forgiveness.
We tend to hold onto our mistakes, becoming hostages of our past, torturing ourselves by replaying and reliving them. We can’t change the mistakes we made, and we can’t go back in time to undo them, but we can forgive ourselves for making them.
How to:
- Acknowledge that we made a mistake
- Accept that a mistake was made
- Avoid punishing ourselves
- Think of our mistake as a learning experience
Ask yourself:
- What did this mistake teach me?
- What worked?
- What didn’t work?
- What can I do differently?
Rather than obsessing about what happened, what could have happened, or should have happened, think of each mistake as a lesson and a learning experience. Remind yourself that making mistakes is part of the human experience and that you are allowed to make them. Forgive yourself for your mistakes and then consider what can you can take away from them.
With love and support, Molly
