HOW TO USE MISTAKES TO LEARN VALUABLE LESSONS, Make Positive Changes and Avoid Guilt and Regret
“To err is human” may be true, but when we make mistakes it’s vital to learn from them, forgive ourselves and not fall into the traps of guilt and regret
THE DAWNING LIGHT, Volume 8, # 699 Monday, January 8, 2024
SPIRITUAL SOUP KITCHEN Section # 108 Stories by Chinmayan of the challenges and rewards of living your spiritual path in daily life…
All images in this story courtesy of Pixabay
HOW TO USE MISTAKES TO LEARN VALUABLE LESSONS, MAKE POSITIVE CHANGES AND AVOID GUILT AND REGRET
“To err is human” may be true, but when we make mistakes it is vital to learn from them, forgive ourselves and not fall into the traps of quilt and regret
Making Mistakes Is Part Of Life AND What Counts Is What We Do With Them And How We Respond
I confess that I have made many mistakes, including some very big ones which caused tremendous pain to my family and friends and brought heartbreak and loss to myself and those I hold dear.
Of course, I would give almost anything to be able to return to the past and undo all the mistakes I have made in my life, but since that is not possible I have had to learn a few key lessons about mistakes which I would like to share with you.
What I have learned that is vitally important if we ever hope to have healing for the hurtful or stupid things I have done….is to forgive myself for my mistakes, especially when I was doing my best to get it right and made it wrong instead.
Where I come from there is an old saying…” If you don’t learn from your mistakes, you are certain to keep on repeating them until you do!“
If we choose to learn from our mistakes then they become precious turning points on the road of life that are worth all that making them cost you…
Honestly Acknowledging Our Mistakes and Taking Responsibility For Them Is The Key
I have also learned that when I take responsibility honestly for my mistakes, including and most importantly, those that hurt or disappointed or upset someone, and humbly bow my head to acknowledge it, apologize and do what I can to make amends, that transforms my mistake into something precious and empowering.
It is not my job to change anyone, but it is my responsibility and privilege to change myself.
If I fail to change myself when I see that change is absolutely necessary, then I have missed a valuable opportunity.
I have also found that when I indulge in feeling guilty about something I have done, that is total bullshit because it almost certainly insures I will make the mistake or take that action again.
Guilt and Regret Are Poisonous Bullshit
Feeling guilty, like anger or pride or jealousy or lust, is a mind endarkening emotion with no benefit because it makes me feel like shit and conclude that I am a bad boy and believe I should be punished.
Regret is a terrible cancer that grows in the dark and feeds on our very souls.
It is the cousin of guilt and all those other negative emotions that are like coiled rattlesnakes hiding in the grass filled with venom ready to strike or a jar of pure poison stored in the refrigerator that looks like a nice cold drink.
If you get bit but don’t apply the antidote or drink the poison, believing you need to…it will soon infect your mind in nasty ways.
One of the problems with these negative emotions like guilt and regret is that we are programmed to believe we should embrace and obsess over them…that we should feel them. Nothing could be farther from the truth!
Negative Emotions Are A Way Of Avoiding Taking Resposibility
But these negative emotions turn out to be a way of avoiding taking responsibility and dealing honestly with our mistakes.
Those bad feelings will just keep on growing after you are infected with them, often for a person’s entire life, further clouding your consciousness and sucking away more personal power by the day.
They become long chains of bad feelings about ourselves that we keep on dragging behind us.
The sad thing is, most of us are unaware of these truths, and get bit by the snake without realizing what or why it is happening. This leads to diminishing self-esteem and bitterness which gets directed towards those we think are responsible.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Blame and Bitterness Will Never Lead to Healing
The ego mind loves to blame others, especially those close to us, for all the hurtful stuff that happens, which of course poisons the well of love in that relationship.
I know all this because I lived it, was at the effect of it and saw others, including those I loved the most, fall victim to it with burgeoning terrible consequences.
My own mother was a sweet and loving person on the surface but was simmering with so much bitterness that it led to her having her life fall apart and rapid physical and mental decline and an unhappy and painful demise.
Taking responsibility, learning my lessons and truly forgiving myself and others while seeking to make amends and positive personal changes are all the golden keys for transforming mistakes from things we regret and feel guilty about into opportunities to become the very best person we can be.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
A SPECIAL SONG and MUSIC VIDEO FOR YOU From Chinmayan’s Inspirational Playlists
“Unstoppable “ By Sia This version has complete lyrics and is set to scenes from the movie “WONDER WOMAN”and has nearly 58 million views!
This poignant rousing song is all about overcoming mistakes and pain to become an unstoppable force of good in this world.
This original version by Sia, singer and songwriter, perfectly expresses the challenges of living in this world of relationships, loneliness and disappointments…but using it all to become unstoppable!
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