There’s never a reason to look back on decisions you’ve made in the past and beat yourself up over them. What you see today as a mistake was just you doing the best you could with the tools and the knowledge you had then. You’re looking back as the wiser/more experienced version of yourself who might make a different decision if the same thing happened today. Don’t waste your precious energy judging yourself this way. Once you’ve learned from a “mistake”, just summon some compassion for your past self, keep the lesson and move on.
I’ve spent a lot of time wondering how my life might have turned out if I’d done A instead of B. But we alter the course of our lives with EVERY decision we make, every day. Even the decisions I regretted at the time have contributed something positive to my life, in the valuable lessons they’ve taught me. These so-called “bad” experiences have made me stronger, smarter, and more resourceful. These are gifts that I can use to propel myself into the next phase of my life, and help others along the way. My past “failures” have set me up for success in the future.
So instead of mourning the life I could have had if I’d chosen differently, I can use ALL my experiences (good and bad) to make the best choices I can today to create the life I want in the future. Failure is a required part of the journey toward success. So is tenacity and resilience. The key is to just keep getting up every time you fall down. You never really fail until you quit.
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