Bouncing back from mistakes
I’ve yet to meet a person who hasn’t made a financial mistake at some point. Whether it’s overdrawing an account or forgetting to fill out a form, making mistakes is just a part of life.
Some mistakes are larger than others — like neglecting to have a will and leaving your family in a financial mess if you die. But for the most part we can learn from our mistakes, or at the very least we can learn from the mistakes of others.
As an example, suppose you’ve decided on a budget for the month, and plan to spend about $200 for the month eating out. Before you know it, you’ve spent more than you had planned to.
It’s what you do after making the mistake that really matters. If you get upset and go out and spend more because you “just can’t stick to a budget, so why bother trying”, you’re selling yourself short. If you beat yourself up for making a poor decision, you’ll lose confidence.
If you take some time to evaluate what you could do differently next time instead, you’ll be that much closer to success. Even more importantly, step back and think about the party your own actions and choices played in the situation.
Accept responsibility and make changes accordingly, because by accepting responsibility you’re free to positively affect your situation from here on out.
