How often have we found ourselves saying this reflective comment - "I wish I knew then what I know now". But would that actually make anything different?
We all make mistakes, and we will continue to do so. Personally, I will continue to make mistakes until I die, nothing is more certain than death itself. Here's a few thoughts on why I think this phrase is unhelpful;
· We learn and grow from things that we have done wrong, or at the very least we try to learn from them.
· If we had the wisdom then that we have now (i.e. when we were younger) I suggest that we would have made other mistakes.
· Making mistakes is a way of growing emotionally, about learning our strengths and weaknesses, and is a part of life itself which isn't always fair or just.
· Mistakes are what make us who and what we are today.
It is not so much about the size or number of mistakes that we make, it is about how we recover from them, how we learn from them, and how we move forward.
It is said that those who have not made mistakes have not made anything at all. I don't believe this is the case. Not making anything is a mistake isn't it?
If you make a mistake, fix it as soon as you can. It you can't fix it, learn from it. If you can't learn from it, move on regardless. That’s an easy thing to say but hard to do, nonetheless it is at least worth trying.
If we don't move on from our mistakes we will harbour guilt and regret and we know that this will often lead us into dark places.