For us it is important to be able to maintain good relationships, we have to be humble enough to admit that we are not always right. We need to willingly apologize for our mistakes and be corrected them. If you’re a human being, you’re going to make mistakes there’s just no way around it. However, letting go of those mistakes can be tough, especially if you’re dealing with feelings of guilt or regret. It may take a little time, but you can learn to accept your mistakes and forgive yourself for what’s happened in the past.
On the other hand, admitting your fault puts you one step closer to dealing with it, and can often be the first step towards a successful turn-around. At the least, though, it shows that you’re someone with integrity and courage, even in the face of disastrous consequences.
Here are a few pointers about fessing up and dealing with your mistakes:
- Apologize: A lot of people go to great lengths to make up for their mistakes or to hide them when a simple I’m sorry would do the job, and cause a lot fewer hard feelings.
- Be sympathetic: Realize that your mistakes might affect many more people than just you, and recognize the pain you’ve caused. A little bit of sympathy can well be the opening you need to set things right.
- Take responsibility: Don’t try to weasel out of it, and don’t look around wildly for someone else to blame. Even if your failure came about because someone let you down, you’re ultimately responsible for the projects under your authority.
- Be sincere: Don’t pretend to feel sympathy or act fake so that the other person can see how deeply you care. Show honest emotion is the first step to rebuilding the trust lost.
- Accept the consequences: It’s hard, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet and take your lumps. Few actions come without any consequences, be prepared to embrace whatever befalls you due to the mistakes you’ve made.
- Do not point a finger at others: It is said that whenever you point a finger at someone, your four other fingers are pointing at you. This means that you have no right to judge another person for whatever flaw one has because you might have more flaws than them.
- See things from someone else’s perspective: If you’ve made a promise and failed to keep it, put yourself on the other side and see how things look from there. How would you feel? What would your response be if you were them? And what action would satisfy you?
