Mistakes are defined as errors people make. In some cases, people may not regret making those mistakes, while in other cases, they can regret them for the rest of their lives. But occasionally, mistakes are what we need in life. Mistakes are a flashing red light, that in some moments may catch our attention. As humans, we have the decision to drive through the red light or stop until it is green. The time in between a red, yellow, and green light takes patience. Having the patience to learn from your mistakes is something you need because problems are never automatically solved.
I believe if you were to ask someone who is at the end of the road how to solve life, they would say quite simply that there is no answer. The closest answer they would have is “Do not expect someone to forgive and forget, expect someone to forgive when they see the growth you have made for both yourself and them,” and “giving up after the mistake is almost as bad as the mistake in itself.”Â
The realization of understanding the widths and pain your mistake has caused is the most painful part. As you sit, look out the window, and rethink every single action that led up to your mistake, you doubt yourself and who you are as a person. How could I cause someone this much pain, without even thinking of the aftermath? Is this really the type of person I am? What do I and don’t I deserve in life now? All of these self-doubting thoughts about the values you thought you held as a person, in which you feel like you do not stand for anymore.Â
Sometimes it feels as if everything you say, feel or do is not enough—that you will never be enough. The most valuable thing to do when a mistake in your lifespan occurs is to not forget the values you stand for, but to instead constantly and knowingly reiterate those values into every action you take. A mistake is not the end of the road, but depending on how you deal with it, a turn in the right direction for becoming the person you are destined to be.
Mistakes are seen as a burden and a sin in society, but they should be seen as a virtue and way to bring out the good in you. The mistake you make not only can shatter someone else’s self-esteem, confidence, integrity, but also yours.Â
By self-reflecting and looking at the good in a mistake, it is hard to not feel like you are making the situation about you. In reality though, the situation is about you too. You cannot promise you won’t make a mistake or error in life again, but with every second, minute, hour, day, month, and year you have until your road is at an end, you are the only one who can choose to enhance and put in everything your soul has to not do it again.
Mistakes cause pain, pain causes trauma, trauma causes overthinking. Overthinking can lead to negative thoughts, and like a traffic jam, you feel as if you are at a standstill. This mess is yours. Taking responsibility is not enough. The phrase which has been reiterated and engraved in this article many times is that; it is the patience you have in yourself to pick up the mess you made, and follow the road that guides yourself to also forgive yourself. Learning to better yourself is taking in the beauty, freedom, wisdom and knowledge mistakes give you to one day be able to wait for the green light and be at peace.