Assessing Your Errors and Becoming a Better Person
When assessing our lives we tend to think we are a good person and do not need to change. However, we all have room for improvement and at one time or another will need to make a fresh start. Any life altering event, such as a broken relationship, a financial set-back or even meeting someone we truly admire, can bring about a desire to change.
Start today assessing your errors and becoming a better person with these tips on what to do and where to start.
Admit
It is easier by far to deny that we have erred or make excuses than to deal with it. However, this is futile as everyone knows we have all made mistakes whether we admit it or not. Denying this will only compound the original error, for all too often those mistakes from the past will be lugged behind us, for the rest of our life as a heavy ball and chain.
Search
When we search our memories, we will find those remarks, made repeatedly to us by friends and loved ones, which for some reason seem to irritate us. We react to them by taking a defensive attitude, because we think those close to us are being critical, and indeed they are.
The word criticism has bad connotations because of thoughts it brings to mind, but criticism is not a bad thing, if we will listen and learn from it. It shows us how we appear to others. This can often be more accurate, than how we see our self.
Listen
After you have thought of the comments you have heard repeatedly and not liked, analyze them. Drop your defenses and watch your behavior with an open mind, to see if you are guilty as charged. Start truly listening to what others are saying to and about you. Whatever your errors have been, you will recognize them if you listen to those closest to you, for they are the ones who know you best.
Think
Think about your habits and patterns of behavior. Ask yourself, why you do the things you do, the way you do them. Try to remember when this behavior began and why. Give some thought to what you are trying to accomplish and why.
Change
When you have a clear grasp of what has motivated you, try to change it if you can, if not then you must learn to accept it without allowing it to rule you any longer. At times, this may require seeking professional help. Accept that you will make mistakes and move on with your new life, trying not to make the same ones again.
Forgive Yourself
When assessing our errors, it does no good to kick ourselves for mistakes of the past. The old saying, “To err is human to forgive is divine,” is both true and wise. However, we seldom apply this to ourselves. Forgiving yourself is a hard thing to do. When you have recognized your errors, don’t make excuses for your behavior, just admit you were wrong and forgive yourself.
You can change old habits and you can stop making the same errors repeatedly.
However, until you have faced your past and admitted to yourself that you have been wrong, you cannot move forward. You can be a better person, if you will take responsibility for your errors and take charge of your life today.
