Whoops.

We all hate that feeling - I feel it in the pit of my stomach. Sometimes it even drops down and weakens my knees. It's that moment when you wish you could just hit stop... rewind... and try it again. 

It's the moment you realize a mistake has been made. 
-Sometimes it is something trivial, that probably doesn't matter, even in the span of the day. 
-Sometimes it is something impactful. 
-And sometimes it is something catastrophic. 

Unfortunately, we can't hit rewind. Unfortunately, we don't get a redo. Unfortunately, we have to live with that mistake. What is done is done, but we still have an opportunity to respond to that mistake with awareness and intention, opposed to with a reaction. 

When you make a mistake, I want you to do the following:

ACKNOWLEDGE IT. 
Make eye contact with that mistake. Don't hide from it. Don't ignore it. Look straight at it and say, "I see you and you were a mistake." Just acknowledging it takes some of the mistake's power away. 

TAKE OWNERSHIP.
This is not the opportunity to place blame or point fingers. This is the opportunity to take ownership. Once you take ownership, you remove the ability to play victim and that provides you the opportunity to move to the next step: fixing it. 

DO YOUR BEST TO FIX IT.
After you have acknowledged it was a mistake, do your best to fix the mistake. Sometimes this means apologizing (to yourself and/or others!). Sometimes this means you have to redo something or edit something. Sometimes this means you have to make a sacrifice on your end (financial and/or time). 

REFLECT. 
This is where your learning happens. Reflect on this mistake. What caused it to land in this position? Ask yourself the following questions:
-Was I present or distracted?
-Was I prepared?
-Should/could I have asked for help?
-What would I do differently if I could redo this?
-How can I prevent this from happening again?
-Where else in my life can I apply this lesson?
We learn not from experiences, but from reflecting on experiences. This is your opportunity to use this mistake to help you develop. Don't leave this step until you have decided what you have learned from this error. 

MOVE ON.
You are human. Humans make mistake. We are human beings, not perfect beings. Allowing this mistake to hold you down or serve as an obstacle to you moving forward is a limitation only you can lift. You need to take that step forward and use the experience to transform your future. Tell yourself: "I made a mistake. I have taken ownership, I have corrected it to the best of my ability, I have learned from it, and I will apply that learning. I can confidently move forward."