Mistakes. Wanting to correct a mistake brings doership and doership is the foundation for mistakes. Often, those who are trying to correct mistakes get caught up in more mistakes. Those who recognize their mistakes are freed from them. Often, when one acknowledges a mistake, one tries to justify it, without taking responsibility for it. And sometimes one accepts that one made a mistake and starts justifying it or feeling guilty about it. Mistakes get dropped when one is troubled by one’s conscience (Viveka) or grief. There may be flaws in any action, any situation or any person. Treat a flaw as you would treat a flower. Just as a flower has to wither away after some time, so does a flaw.
Making a mistake is a part of life. Sometimes a mistake happens; it happens. Fine! Accept it and move ahead. The pain of making the same mistake, again and again, is good enough to take you out of the same mistake. The pain and pinch of suffering will make you come out of that. But never justify your mistake.
How to Face Your Mistakes and Move Ahead
Wisdom Spontaneity is the sign of a vibrant life, and you can’t be spontaneous if you are brooding over your mistakes. When you are spontaneous, you don’t chew on the past. You don’t chew on your mistakes or the mistakes of others. You must remember – it is not only fools who make mistakes, the wise also make mistakes. Here are 9 perspectives that can help you face your mistakes and move ahead.
How to Deal with Mistakes?
Embrace humanity
Don’t sit and chew on your mistakes or someone else’s mistakes. If someone else has made a mistake, forgive and forget. If you have made a mistake, ask for forgiveness and move on. Don’t get stuck! Feel free!
See a mistake as a mistake, not as “my” or “his” mistake. “My” means guilt; “his” means anger.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Let go of anger
When you chew on your own mistakes, you will feel guilty and you will drown in your own depression. Both are not good.
Ignorance to Innocence
Once awareness dawns on you, then you realise that you made a mistake out of ignorance. By realising this, you come out of the mistake and become innocent once again. As long as you do not repeat it, it’s okay.
Learn from Mistakes
The intelligent ones learn from the mistakes of others as well and avoid making them in their life. If you have a sharp intellect, then you will not repeat the mistake that someone else has done, otherwise, everyone commits the same mistake and goes through the same ordeal.
Present Moment Power
This is the best way to behave and to get over the past. Digging into the past and then complaining or giving an explanation is stupidity.
Take Responsibility
Once you accept a mistake and take some remedial measures, then you find peace. But if you brush off a mistake and act as if you didn’t do it, then it starts to prick you from within.
Respond with compassion
Ignorant people around you may remind you of your mistakes, but you should have compassion for them instead of feeling hurt or angry. Think so – “Oh, they are still stuck in the past and do not know that I am a totally different person now. I have changed”. This faith you must develop in yourself. There is no need to fall into self-pity.
The world is full of people and mistakes. Forgive the mistakes & love the people.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Follow the middle path
There are some people who believe that they are always right, so they don’t learn anything from their experiences and repeat the same mistakes. There are also some people who think that they are always wrong. Both these attitudes are not good. You should take the middle path. Learn from mistakes made and go ahead with the conviction that God is on my side and will not allow me to fail.
Genuine Intentions
In conclusion, mistakes are an inherent part of life, and how we face and learn from them shapes our personal growth and progress. Rather than dwelling on mistakes or pointing them out in others, it is essential to adopt a wise and compassionate approach. Acknowledging our mistakes, accepting responsibility, and seeking forgiveness allow us to move forward and find inner peace.
To deal with mistakes effectively, we must embrace our humanity and understand that both the wise and the foolish make mistakes. Learning from the mistakes of others and cultivating awareness can help us avoid repeating the same errors. Letting go of anger and guilt, as well as focusing on the present moment, allows us to release the burden of past mistakes and live more spontaneously.
The Sudarshan Kriya taught in the Art of Living program offers you a transformative path towards self-discovery, inner peace, and self-improvement. By incorporating the Sudarshan Kriya in our daily lives, we can develop the wisdom to face our mistakes with grace and move forward on our journey.
