How To Avoid Repeating The Same Mistakes: 12 Handy Ways

This new article will show you everything you need to know about how to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Sometimes it seems like we are doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again, but it’s those voices of fear and regret that really hold us back. Positive feelings are the best way to stop this pattern and promote a better part of ourselves.

Yes, you should learn from your mistakes, but not by enslaving yourself with fear and self-loathing. You can take a different path.

How To Avoid Repeating The Same Mistakes:

1. Recognize and accept your flaws without being afraid of them.

Failure can help you grow as long as you accept it in a healthy way. Failure is hard to accept, but if you avoid it, you will miss the opportunity to learn from it.

Admit the mistake to yourself or the person who was wronged so you can analyze what went wrong and do better next time. If confronting your mistakes makes you feel uncomfortable or fearful, tell yourself that this is quite normal:

Everyone makes mistakes at some point in their lives. Most failures are minor setbacks rather than complete disasters. People who accomplish great things often have a history of major failures.

2. Accept that mistakes are unavoidable in life.

Mistakes are inevitable, but they can also be beneficial. Your brain has powerful tools that allow you to learn from mistakes in a split second.

Shift the focus from disappointment and failure to a more reasonable approach that helps you learn the right lessons. By explaining what really happened and what you could have done better, you can turn a mistake into a success.

3. Recognize your achievements.

Instead of reprimanding yourself, praise yourself. Admitting mistakes is important, but focusing too much on the bad can cause you to “turn off” and avoid thinking about what happened. Being unhappy and reinforcing that feeling with negative thoughts is counterproductive.

Take some time to appreciate what you have accomplished:

Make a list of all your accomplishments and difficulties you have overcome.

Make a list of the qualities you like about yourself.

If you regret a difficult situation, think about the steps you took to alleviate it or prevent it from getting worse, even if they weren’t completely effective.

4. Use empathy to combat perfectionism.

When the inner critic gets too loud, mute it. People who suffer from perfectionism tend to obsessively think about their flaws. If you have difficulty praising and appreciating yourself, make being kind to yourself a top priority.

Overcoming these challenges doesn’t mean you’ll never criticize yourself again; rather, it involves transforming your inner critic into something more realistic, gentler, and less important to your self-esteem. It’s much easier to improve yourself when you have a positive attitude.

If you have trouble appreciating yourself, try talking to yourself as if you were talking to a close friend.

SEE ALSO: How To Stop Daydreaming Once For All: 16 Effective Ways

5. Give yourself the tools to avoid making the same mistakes again.

Prepare to triumph.You can’t just tell yourself that you need to do something better and expect it to happen. Approach your problems with a realist’s mentality and take action in advance to prevent past patterns from repeating themselves. Here are some examples:

If you tend to forget payment deadlines, prepare a large, visible reminder in advance.

If you’re constantly ignoring red flags in your emotional life, enlist the help of trusted friends to check in on your dates and tell you what’s going on if they raise any concerns.

6. Recognize the habits that lead to errors.

Analyze your life for patterns of behavior that you would like to change (1). If you notice that you are repeating the same mistakes, you have probably hit a dead end in your perception of the world and how you behave in it.

Consider the following aspects of your unconscious behaviors and their impact on your life:

Face the root causes that drive your actions. Do you play video games for hours to avoid contact with your family? Do you go on more diets because of a lack of self-esteem? You may need to work on the root cause before you can change your behavior on a surface level.

Don’t try to tackle too many things at once. Concentrate on a small number of topics, or maybe just one at a time-the ones you think need the most attention.

7. Set reasonable expectations for yourself.

Realistic goals allow you to progress without hurting yourself. You can set ambitious goals, but don’t expect to hit a basketball before you pick up a basketball.

Set goals that you can achieve without burning yourself out or neglecting other aspects of your life. By doing so, you’ll have more victories, which will reinforce positive habits over time and help you develop healthier behaviors.

Instead of focusing on “perfect communication,” accept that stepping back and stopping an argument, rather than escalating it, is nonetheless a gain. It is also a success if you can talk calmly about what happened afterwards.

Set a goal for yourself to spend at least ten minutes on the day you have to do the task, rather than setting an unattainable goal of “just stopping” procrastination. Once you’ve mastered this, try to get half of the task done ahead of time. Reward yourself for reaching these goals, and you’ll be more motivated to keep going.

8. Acquire skills to deal with behavioral stressors.

Find out what makes you behave the way you do and adjust your behavior accordingly. What circumstances or events trigger actions you dislike? Your mistakes don’t just appear out of the blue.

They can be triggered by other people, stressful situations, or even small things like skipping a meal. The first step to changing your behavior to fit these patterns, or to preventing them from occurring, is to recognize them.

If you can’t identify what triggers you, carry around a journal (or a journaling app on your phone) and jot down daily events and feelings. Re-read previous entries to look for stress-inducing habits, such as irregular sleeping or eating times, and remind yourself what you did to get back on track.

We all have stories in our heads that shape our actions, so pay attention to what you do. What exactly are you going to do? How can you unconsciously put yourself in these dangerous situations?

SEE ALSO: How To Be Better At Something: 13 Essential Steps

9. Replace old habits with new ones.

Even if our habits make us unhappy, our brains prefer to return to them. Instead of trying to stop an impulse, redirect it into another behavior:

Strategize ahead of time what you will do in response to each stimulus. Instead of arguing, you can make excuses to go to the restroom if a family member pressures you.

These “backup” plans should be as few as possible. If stress causes you to want to smoke a cigarette, you can try breathing exercises almost anywhere, because it is impossible to go for a jog when you are anxious.

To make this strategy concrete, write it down. This is about taking full responsibility for your life to break old patterns.

10. Find a peer support partner.

Exchange words of encouragement with the person who will hold you accountable. Once the initial enthusiasm has passed, having someone to support you can help you persevere with your goals. The right choice is of the utmost importance, so think carefully about it:

It’s usually best to choose a friend or even a stranger (such as someone at the gym if you’re trying to get in shape). Romantic partners or close friends may have difficulty adjusting to a new role.

Partners should not pass judgment. Building trust takes time, so start with someone who makes you feel comfortable.

It would be more beneficial if you both took it seriously. Choose someone who will show up for scheduled follow-up meetings and not miss them.

11. After a setback, get back on your feet.

Failure is unavoidable (2); what matters is how you deal with it. On a bad day, changing old patterns, discovering your own story, and confronting failure are worthwhile endeavors, but they can also be challenging and disruptive.

It’s very natural to feel optimistic and inspired one moment and sink into despair and regret the next. If you make a mistake again, there are several things you can do to get back on track:

While you are still experiencing bad emotions, seek help from the right people in the right environment—people who will not condemn you and an environment that will not encourage you to behave more negatively.

Once you have recovered somewhat, you can analyze how the failure occurred. Consider why something suddenly triggered strong emotions and how it can be prevented in the future.

Consider whether your coping mechanisms have failed. Is there a way to make them more accessible or easier to use?

Finally, consider how you dealt with failure when it was at its worst. Is there a better, more effective way to get through those difficult moments? Can I ask someone now if they can call me for help in the future so that this concept is already in your mind?

12. Develop resilience to ensure long-term success.

For long-term stability, seek out helpful groups. It’s amazing to break the cycle of mistakes and remorse, but it doesn’t happen all at once or heal everything.

For long-term success, surround yourself with people who recognize your best self and want to support it. A sense of belonging and connection are some of the most effective strategies for overcoming failures that try to pull you back into old habits.

In your social group, spend time with people who are sensitive and understanding. Stay away from those who insult your emotions.

Look for new communities that have strong social ties, such as a local group that meets regularly.

Volunteering for those in need will not only make you feel connected to others, but it will also give you a sense of purpose, which is another source of self-worth.

Thank you for reading this article about how to avoid repeating the same mistakes and I really hope that you take action my advice.

I wish you good luck and I hope its contents have been a good help to you.

Przemkas Mosky
Przemkas Mosky started Perfect 24 Hours in 2017. He is a Personal Productivity Specialist, blogger and entrepreneur. He also works as a coach assisting people to increase their motivation, social skills or leadership abilities. Read more here