Regretting past mistakes you have made? Think again!
Did you make a big mistake in the past that you can’t stop thinking about?
A “wrong” decision that causes you regret?
First of all, we all make mistakes!! If you live long enough you will have made some mistakes and taking some “wrong” turnings.
But have you ever thought of the alternative?
Very likely, you’ve thought about how wonderful everything would have turned out if you would have done the “right” thing.
Less likely, you will have thought about another alternative, the WORSE outcome. You might have taken a decision you considered to be "bad" at the time, but life is funny sometimes and maybe, just maybe, something far worse might have happened instead of what happened in reality.
Or the outcome would have been very similar in the end, even if you would have done the “right thing”. Many mistakes are in fact irrelevant in the bigger picture, so beating ourselves up about them is just not worth the time.
Mistakes can be big and small. If someone else was involved and your mistake had a negative impact on them, you should sincerely apologise and maybe try to make up for it if possible.
If it didn't have a direct impact on others but you have messed up for yourself (a badly prepared job interview maybe), you can’t change it but you can forgive yourself, have some self-compassion and move on.
You will have learned so much and that is worth a lot!!