These things happen. We’re human. We make mistakes. The question is, can you evaluate, learn from them, and move on. All we can do is hope that there are no life-threatening repercussions, and that no one is going to be severely impacted as a result of what we did or didn’t do.

I read a chapter in a book once, by a chap who I know could be very divisive with his views, and he surprised me with his compassion on the subject of making mistakes. The chapter was called “How big a mistake are you going to make?”, and it touched on people who were just going about doing their daily job when the results of their actions caused a significant loss of life. He talked about how these people became vilified, but in reality they were just you, or me, or the next person in line, who happened to have a bad day, but in a job where there could be catastrophic implications. It made me stop and think about how lucky I am never to have been in that position. It also reminded me that we need to be more understanding and compassionate when people do make mistakes, and also a bit less harsh on ourselves when we make them, especially when everyone walks away relatively unscathed.

I believe it is all too easy to get into a cycle of negativity around making mistakes. They will happen. If you start to fixate on them, then you will lose focus and make even more.

I don’t know if this response helps. You do seem to be very harsh on yourself. You don’t have to answer these questions, but, out of interest, do you set yourself incredibly high expectations? Also, do you find you set equally high expectations of other people too?

Your vacation is definitely a good thing to focus on. It’s so important to have something to look first to.

Jeff.