Now that things have settled for our new family of four, I thought I would return to the My Best Life postings.
Mondays are usually the most dreaded day of the week. I like to take the opportunity to make the best of my Mondays by thinking of a strategy that I can implement for the week to make my life a little bit better. After all, seven days of a positive change could make a life-long impact! So feel free to join me in my journey for a better life.
This Week’s Strategy
I’m not perfect… no one is. So why is it that I beat myself up every time I make a mistake? We are told throughout our lives that it’s important that we learn from our mistakes. Well the way I see it is in order to learn, some mistakes need to be made.
I learned to ride a bike by making mistakes. I learned how to write a research paper by screwing up on my first few papers. I even found the love of my life because I had made a mistake! However, I tend to apply this logic to everyone else but myself! When I make a mistake I often punish myself for screwing up in the first place. I don’t demand perfection from anyone else but I demand it from myself.
This week I’m letting go. I’m going to say, “Oops” when I screw up and I’ll apologize if my mess-ups have affected anyone else. More importantly, I am going to let myself be okay with it. If I notice I’m starting to mentally criticize myself for messing up, I am going to remind myself of this pledge I’ve made today.
Also, in order to be successful and be held accountable for this life-changing decision, I’ve enlisted the help of my husband. He will listen for if and/or when I start beating myself up over a mistake and remind me of this strategy that I am implementing to live my best life.
Are you okay with making mistakes? What do you do to cut yourself a little slack? As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.
I screw up all the time! I’ve tried to adopt the phrase ‘I’ll try harder tomorrow’ or ‘I’ll try something different tomorrow’. It helps me to realize that I’m learning and I just hope not to make the same mistake twice. It still happens but at least I’m trying!
@One Practical Woman I like the idea of using the phrase, “I’ll try harder tomorrow”. I think I may have to use that one!