What Happens When You Make a Mistake?

Key points

Everyone makes mistakes.

We can notice how we respond to mistakes.

We can be kind to ourselves and our loved ones when mistakes are made.

There’s an old children’s book where a little piggy says, “When I make a mistake, I pick myself up.”

Like the piggy, this is how we want to view mistakes: Mistakes are part of life, and they can be remedied. We can always pick ourselves up.

I was lucky. When I was little and I broke something, my mom would say, “It’s okay. Everything is replaceable except people.” Now, as an adult, when I make a mistake, I stay calm enough to think through solutions. I don’t have a punishing voice in my head.

I practice a type of therapy called Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP). I fell in love with this method over two decades ago