Learning from our Mistakes

Once we recognize our mistakes, we must struggle to never again allow ourselves to do the same thing, or anything like it, again. Learning from our experiences is an essential part of the growth process. We are all going to make mistakes as we struggle to responsibly move forward in life. However, if used properly, our mistakes can actually become an opportunity for growth. In fact, we can often learn more from our mistakes and failures than we can from our successes. It is only when these mistakes and failures are excused or shut off, and not used as a guide for future choices, that they become useless, and even detrimental.


When we choose not to correct and learn from our mistakes, they gain power over us. They serve to perpetuate self-deception, and damage any trust or confidence we may have in ourselves. Thus, we compound our mistake with another even more damaging mistake and cause even deeper injury to ourselves. So, we must struggle to make sure that all the lessons we learn become operational in our decision-making process. If we don’t, then we risk the chance of forgetting about them and making the same mistake again. Even little slip-ups or misunderstandings cannot be overlooked, excused or tolerated. Making a little mistake isn’t so much the issue. Instead, it is our past pattern of making exceptions and excuses for our mistakes, failing to learn from them, and continually allowing one mistake or slip-up to lead to another, and another, and another.

In the end, the only way we can truly overcome our mistakes, correct our errors in thinking, reprogram our mind, and develop responsible patterns of thinking and decision-making is by actually doing these things. It is in the conscious struggle to learn from our experiences and make the correct choices, and through the effort and sacrifice necessary to implement these choices, that we are given the opportunity to grow and develop. Good thoughts, choices, and habits can only be developed and fortified in the same way that we developed and fortified our irresponsible thoughts and habits - through repetition. Thus, in order to grow, we must take action. We must implement all the lessons we learn and struggle to overcome all the habitual remnants of our past way of life. Our opportunities lie in the way we confront our difficult choices, bear our burdens, and struggle to transcend the habitual responses of our defective subconscious programming. Ultimately, it is this joyous challenge - the struggle to responsibly think, make decisions, achieve, and move forward in our lives - that will become the essence and reward of a responsible way of life.

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