For many years, like many other people I had a fear of making mistakes.  Then I realized something that changed it forever.  I discovered that if after making a mistake I said to myself, “Don’t do anything to make things worse for 48 hours,” and actually followed through on it, I would learn valuable things and even on occasion have breakthroughs that never would have happened if I hadn’t messed up.

If on the other hand I did do something to make it worse such as eating, drinking, spending, pouting, becoming sullen and/or getting angry at someone else, I would miss out on learning that important lesson because I would be too busy doing damage control.

Something that has helped me “white knuckle” it through the moments when I am most tempted to do something impulsive and self-defeating after I mess up is to conjure up the image of someone who cared about me, believed in me and who I respected.   I then engage in a conversation with that person in my head about how upset I am at myself.  Not only does it help talk me down, it helps me feel grateful to and miss those people (who have now died) which feels like the better side of my personality beginning to take back control of my actions.