We’ve all made mistakes in the past. Some people more slight, others more grand.

But the reality is that we just aren’t going to get out of here alive, without making some mistakes.

This is a good thing!

Imagine having to live in a world in which any deviation from accuracy would be “game over!”

Talk about a hostile environment.

Every choice one makes would have to be carefully calculated before hand and then executed to perfection.

Fortunately, we don’t live in such a world.

We can take the chance; seize the opportunity; jump into the deep end of the pool; etc.

And this is how we learn. But for the ability to make mistakes and learn from them, we really wouldn’t accomplish anything with our lives at all.

Interestingly, many people live their lives in this manner even though making mistakes is an important part of growth.

And why should this be?

My late mentor Bob Proctor found a quote once in a Reader’s Digest that helps to answer the question why.

I am not who I think I am.

I am not who you think I am.

I am who I think you think I am.

So true and yet so misguided, many, most, virtually all people are not living for themselves, they are living for others.

That’s such an incredible shame. Who the hell cares about what others think! In fact, that was another of Bob Proctor’s quotes.

What you think of me is none of my business!

If we are going to get anything done in life, we are going to make mistakes. It’s as simple as that!

And those mistakes might be huge ones which not only discredit ourselves in our own eyes, but in the eyes of others as well.

So what!!!

That just means that you are living. And as long as you are always trying to do your best, when you make a mistake, just consider it a learning opportunity.

That’s why I say don’t erase the past, grow from it!

See, just as there are some people that can’t forgive themselves for past mistakes – something which I did for years – there are others that are not able to analyze and grow as a result of their errors.

I have observed that people who aren’t willing to live for fear of error often have the toughest lives.

But as the old quip about history goes: “Those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.”

Basically, when you take note of your past and make adjustments to act differently to achieve better results, you get better … continuously better!

Each day is a new start. And what’s so cool according to James Clear’s Atomic Habits, if you can make a mere 1% improvement each day, over the course of a year, you will be 37 times better than you are now!

37 Times! That’s amazing!

So, just as long as your mistakes are not so egregious that you still have a new day, take just a little bit of time to consider what didn’t work as well the day before, make a change and act on it today.

If it should pass that the change was a mistake, well then that’s great feedback when you do your self review tomorrow.

We can’t erase the past, but we can use it to help inform our futures.

This allows you to move from what you may now perceive as a hostile world to one which is amicable and friendly.

It all comes down to perception … self perception!