Dealing with past mistakes

Sometimes we say or do things that we later regret. This makes us punish ourselves in way or another, as if we could somehow “make up” for what we’ve done. Depending on the type of mistake made, letting go might be as easy as ABC but however there are some lessons that can be learnt from them to avoid a repeat of such mistakes.

Some respondents had one or two things to tell Lifextra regarding dealing with their past mistakes.

TJ Benson, a young Nigerian writer, says he re-examines the mistake and its repercussions without being partial to himself. “I learn what can be learnt from what I did that went wrong and afterwards I try to forgive myself.”

For Aare Vincent Arogbodo, the lessons from his past mistakes help him avoid a repeat of the situation. The father of two told Lifextra “I try as much as possible not to regret over them but rather take one or two lessons from them. This is because those lessons will help me avoid a reoccurrence in the future.”

Also speaking to Lifextra, Francis Okeke said “You learn from them and you try to avoid repeating them. No matter how bad they are, don’t wallow in regrets or self-pity. Move on and use the experiences as building blocks of self-development and growth.”

“If it’s a romantic relationship mistake for instance, no matter how tempting it seems, never go back to where you hurt. Resolve to never be bugged down by past mistakes and you’ll see yourself soar,” he concluded.

Jeremy Emmanson who works with a media house said it in a simple way “It’s basically learning from such mistake by ensuring it doesn’t happen again. 

However Megan Hale in her article “10 ways to forgive yourself & let go of the past” cited some ways we can forget about our past and move on. She wrote “The reason most of us feel guilt or shame for actions done in the past is because those actions are not in line with our current morals and values. Our past wrongs can actually clue us in to what we hold important.

By identifying our morals and values, we start to get a clearer picture as to “why” we’re hurting over what we’ve done or what others did to us.”

Another way she said we could deal with past mistakes is by realizing that the past is the past. “This seems fairly straightforward, but when we can really wrap our head around the fact that we can’t undo the past, the past is done, those things happened, we open ourselves up to more acceptance. Increased acceptance can lead to the emotional healing we are all looking for,” she added.