1. Everyone screws up sometimes. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t fall down here and there, literally and figuratively. Don’t beat yourself up.
2. You really can learn from mistakes. You’ve heard this all throughout grade school: learn from your mistakes. Although it’s embarrassing and you think it’s the end of the world when you mess up, I guarantee that you will think things through a little more before making the same mistake again.
3. Dwelling on the past is just bad for you. If you’re focusing on all of the things you’ve done wrong so far in your life, how are you supposed to move on and do something new and good? Dwelling on the past is unhealthy because you are stressing yourself out over things that you simply cannot change or go back and redo.
4. Redeem yourself! You might not want to get back out there right away, but see this as an opportunity to show everyone how capable you are. You may need a little push at first, but you’ll feel like you’re on top of the world once you do it.
5. See this as an opportunity to grow. Because we are all human and mistakes do happen, some people shut down completely afterwards. Fight the urge to let your fear of failure consume you and let yourself grow from the experience.
6. Other people get annoyed. If they’re your friends, they will understand why you are upset. But if you consistently refuse to give something another chance because of one incident, people will get annoyed—especially in the workplace. If you made a mistake at work, this is even more of a reason to show that you’re worthy.
7. Fight, not flight. Don’t shy away from your mistakes; embrace them. Chances are that someone else has made the same mistake before, so owning up to it is nothing to be afraid of.
8. You’ve done so many things right. We tend to only focus on the things that we screw up on rather than the good things that we do. Remember that time you gave your friend some really great advice? Remember when you aced that exam? Take time to realize how valuable you are and give yourself credit for all of the worthwhile contributions you have made to this world.
9. Who cares?! Yes, it’s important to care about righting a wrong, but chances are that nobody is really paying attention to what you’re doing wrong. In reality, everyone is focused on themselves and hoping that they won’t screw up either! So, when it does happen, own up to it, but move on because it’s in the past and everyone else has already forgotten about it.
10. You’re wasting energy. By dwelling on the mistakes you’ve made, you’re wasting the energy that you could be using towards doing great things in the future. Don’t waste your time and thoughts on something that already happened. It happened, it’s over, and now it’s time to move on and keep doing great things.
