Notes From The Awareness: 278

Repeating a mistake illustrates belief in a broken self.

Please discuss. How does this play out in life?

I’ll start us out. Everyone who is or ever has been been alive has made mistakes. Our emotions propel us into rash decisions; we factor faulty or incomplete data into our choices; simple human error can lead to the wrong action. We f#&* up. Everybody does.

How we handle ourselves afterward may be even more important than the mistakes themselves. We can shame ourselves, generating lots of negativity and prolonging our pain. Or we can explore—hopefully fairly briefly—what went wrong and why, make any necessary amends, and move on to healthier future interactions.

If we choose to dwell on our errors, we affirm to ourselves and the universe that we are flawed and unreliable. The more we berate ourselves, the more we imprint this belief in our psyches. Reinforcing that we are faulty will only lead to repeated mistakes.

Today’s message advises me to be gentle with myself when I err. My focus should be more on understanding and growth than blame. If I find myself repeating mistakes, I will want to explore and tweak my self-beliefs. I’m a good person who learns from her mistakes.

How about you? How do you treat yourself when you mess up?