It’s easy to get mad at yourself when you make a mistake. But what do you do next? How can you stop the cycle of self-loathing and move on with your life? The key is to recognize that everyone makes mistakes, big or small, and there are plenty of ways to recover from them.
In this post, we will discuss 15 things that will help you work through anger after making a mistake so that you can carry on without being held back by resentment!
Remember, You’re Human
Everyone makes errors, and you too will. You’ll feel better about your journey once you’ve recognized that you’re a part of this flawed species known as humans. Consider it a rite of passage when you’re enraged over making mistakes.
At times, you’ll undoubtedly fail, make remarks that aren’t appropriate, or fall below expectations. To be clear, this is a reality, and it’s being human.
So, whatever mistakes you’ve made in the past and whatever ones you’ll make in the future will all help you develop as a professional and as a person.
Get Your Anger in Check
Anger is hazardous since it clouds your reasoning and logical decision-making process. It’s also really harmful. Anger raises blood pressure, increases stress, and lowers the risk of heart disease, among other things. Uncontrolled anger can also lead to dangerous consequences, including physical fighting and addictive behaviours.
You must learn how to control your temper. By stating openly, “I’m furious with myself,” you take responsibility for your emotions. Check it again now. Don’t allow it to stew and grow unchecked. Remember that mistakes are possible to correct, but untethered fury has a damaging influence on the rest of your life if you don’t control it.
Talk to a Friend
When you’re feeling down, talking to friends can be really helpful. They can provide comfort and support, and sometimes they might even have some good advice.
Talking openly about your feelings will help them understand where you’re coming from and why it’s so important for you to get over your mistake. They might be able to help you see things from a different perspective and allow you some time away from the negative feelings that come with anger.
Let It Go Off Your Chest
Venting is one method to release your anger. Nothing can compare to the sense of independence that comes with expressing how you’re feeling. However, venting on social media isn’t a good idea. If you go off on someone or indulge in a self-deprecating rant, it may ruin both your personal and professional lives.
Instead, seek out a reputable person or entity to confide in. This might be anybody from a friend to your pet. Simply tell them, “I’m furious with myself.” Get rid of all the emotions that are weighing you down by sharing your feelings. A group of good friends or even a support group can help you release all the pent-up anger and frustration.
Write It Out
Putting your thoughts onto paper is another way to deal with anger and mistakes. This isn’t a diary, but it can serve as that for you. Writing also allows you to take a step back from the situation so you can see it more objectively.
When you’re done writing, read what you’ve written and see if there’s any information you can use to avoid making the same mistake again. You could even show it to someone else before throwing out your notebook!
Remember, This Is a Learning Experience
What happened is over, so don’t obsess about it anymore. Instead, focus on what has been achieved rather than dwelling on the setback. That roadblock that you hit was a learning experience, and it will be useful to take into consideration the next time you’re in this position. It’s not about achieving perfection or being perfect, but rather using every bad situation as an opportunity to improve yourself for future endeavours!
Get Up and Get Moving
Exercising and being active are fantastic methods to release the “I’m unhappy with myself” emotion that may be simmering inside you. Take a brisk walk, lift weights, or tidy out your closet or garage as an outlet for your emotions. Following on from this, engaging your mind, body, and soul in useful physical activity is a great way to get over your mistake and move on.
Don’t Let It Affect You Too Much.
If you’re honest with yourself, mistakes happen all the time, no matter how much we try to avoid them. Don’t let one slip-up keep you from achieving success later in life! Sometimes it’s just a silly thing that can be laughed off and forgotten about.
Taking your mistake too seriously will just give you more time to stew in self-pity, or worse yet, become depressed over it! It’s much better to move past this negative feeling as quickly as possible. You’ll feel much better when you’re able to forget all about what happened because it’s in the past!
Look at the Bright Side
No matter how bad a situation seems, there’s always some good that can come out of it. After all, you learned something from your mistake, right? It might not have been what you wanted to learn or the way that you wanted to learn it, but nevertheless, this experience will serve you well in the future.
Don’t Dwell on the Problem and Keep Yourself Busy.
It’s very easy to let your mind wander around a situation like this, trying to figure out where you went wrong or what you should have done instead of making that mistake. However, dwelling too much will just make it harder for yourself because those negative feelings keep resurfacing.
One way to keep yourself from thinking about the mistake is to stay busy. This could mean taking on extra work, learning a new skill, or even starting a new project. When you’re constantly occupied with something else, your brain will have less time to focus on the negative!
Talk To Someone Who Understands
When all of our friends and family can’t relate to our situation, it’s sometimes helpful to find someone who has gone through the same thing. After all, they will be able to empathize with you much easier than others!
Try reaching out if a local support group or even online forums might help connect you with people in similar situations. The support that you’ll receive from talking to people who understand is immeasurable and can definitely help you get over your mistake a lot faster!
Tamper Down Your Inner Critic
Making a mistake is not the end of the world, no matter how much your inner critic tries to convince you otherwise! You are only human, and it’s okay if you don’t have all of the answers or make mistakes.
If this voice in your head is causing too many problems for you, try reprogramming it with more positive thoughts. Make a conscious effort to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. It could be as simple as telling yourself that you were just trying your best or saying kind words about what other people can learn from this situation.
Learn From Your Mistakes
This is probably the most important thing to do after making a mistake. If you don’t learn anything from it, you’re just going to make the same mistake again in the future!
Take some time to reflect on what happened and how you can avoid this problem in the future. Write down your thoughts or talk to someone else about it so you can have a clear idea of what went wrong and how you’re going to fix it.
Take Time for Yourself
After a mistake, it’s natural to feel like you need some time alone. This could mean taking a day off from work or school, staying in bed all day, or just isolating yourself from everyone else.
During this time, you should focus on doing things that make you happy and help relax your mind. Listen to your favourite music, read your favourite book, or take a long bath. When you’re feeling better, you can start to socialize again but be sure to take it slow!
Forgive Yourself
This is probably the hardest step of them all because we are our own worst critics. However, if you don’t forgive yourself, then you’ll just be stuck in the same place and never be able to move on.
Acknowledging that you made a mistake and then forgiving yourself for it is the only way to get past this feeling of self-hatred. Chances are, you’ll make mistakes again in the future, but knowing how to handle them will make your life much easier!
Conclusion
When you’re moping over all of the “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” that go with the main notion “I’m upset with myself,” you have no more excuses to wallow in self-pity. Experimenting with one or more of the options listed above might help you reduce the gap between making a mistake and recognizing your own culpability. And that, in turn, will help you get on with your life!
You need to know that you are human, people believe in you, you have resources to help you, and now is your chance to learn and improve.
