For those who made mistakes in the past, this is for you.
We make decisions every day. We decide when to get up on the bed even if your alarm went 50 times already from snoozing. We decide what food we will eat for our meals. We decide when to take a bath or skip today because the weather is cold. We decide what clothes we wear for work. We decide what to take for transportation. We decide everything.
As humans, it's normal for us to make bad decisions. Nobody is perfect. Even superheroes make bad decisions of choosing who to save first whether his family or the welfare of the community. Everything involves decisions.
I am sure that anyone here has made a bad decision and not just a bad decision alone but it could have greatly affected their lives because of that. And so when the time comes that you are already facing the consequences, regrets are coming in. Since you already made a bad decision and you are now facing its effects,
How do we recover from bad decisions?
Own up and say "I did this."
One of the hardest things to do in life is to admit your mistakes.
That's right. It takes a lot of courage to own up to your mistakes and admit that you made a bad decision. Guess what, owning up to your mistakes doesn't make you less of a person. Instead, I'll be proud of you for taking the extra mile of bravery to own it up.
Sometimes, people would look for someone to stand up to their mistakes. They're cowards. They use someone as a scapegoat to clean up the mess when in fact they're just making it worse.
Why is it hard to admit mistakes? It's because of pride.
If that's one thing you can't let go of, you are gonna have a tough time admitting your mistakes. It may be you are not fully aware of what's going to happen after you made that decision, you are in denial and so for you, you did nothing wrong.
Then again, it will ruin your relationships with other people. You're blessed if you have someone who's there to make you realize that it's okay to make mistakes. That's where you learn the most.
Instead of blaming someone or yourself for the mistakes you made, say "I failed but I'm gonna stand up again and make up for it."
Apologize for hurting people.
When we make bad decisions, it's so easy to look at other people's faults when in fact it should be you taking full responsibility for that mistake. When in a negative situation, we are not that conscious of what's going on and so we tend to hurt other people without us knowing.
If you finally managed to come back to your senses, you need to apologize for hurting people. Let go of that pride, you won't gain anything from it. The last time I checked, pride doesn't make you rich. I mean, you become rich in feeding your ego but that's not how you should live your life.
Asking for forgiveness is not for the other person. It's about you freeing yourself from the pain in the past.
Reflect on the lessons you've learned from the mistakes you committed.
Experience is generally viewed as the best teacher but I don't think it is. It becomes the best teacher if you reflect upon it. It's the reflections that you have pondered along that experience.
The same goes with committing bad decisions. When you just keep on committing it but don't reflect on it, then consider yourself like a broken record.
It's like digging for diamonds and gold beneath the ground. You have to go through the dirt before you discover a treasure. That's how you reflect on your bad decisions.
Focus on the present.
If you have finally learned your lessons, don't get stuck in the past. You need to focus on the present and unpack those pieces of baggage (mistakes, regrets, failures) you have in the past. Instead, make them your inspiration to do better and be wiser in the present. These things will hinder you to attain a smooth journey in the present and future.
You see, today is a new day. It's a message for you that you need to move forward and realize that each day is a chance for you to make up for the bad decisions in the past.
Take action.
Realizations are not complete without actions. It's like buying a ticket for a bus ride but you don't wanna take the bus to travel. Then again, you had a history of failures. Fear is gonna prevent you from taking action but I believe with God's presence, or if you don't believe in God (the universe), you're gonna get through it.
It's going to be a tough or traumatic one, but with courage and trust, you'll make that possible.
Thanks for reading.
Keep safe everyone!
It is more realistic and beneficial to accept the mistake, face the mistake and learn from the mistake, rather than sitting down and regretting and lamenting about the wrong decisions taken in the past.