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How to Move On From a Bad Decision

May 24, 2018 By Christine Field

This post may contain affiliate links.

They say that the more mistakes you make, the more successful you become. That might be true, but you must deal with your bad decisions effectively before you can move forward. There’s a process to making the most of your poor decisions.

If you can benefit from your good decisions and your poor decisions, life is easy! Unfortunately, our natural instincts make it challenging to benefit from poor choices. We become upset, distract ourselves, withdraw, feel embarrassed, or give up altogether.

When you can benefit from poor decisions, there are no poor decisions!

Consider these strategies:

1. Learn the lesson. Every bad decision has a lesson to teach. It can be painful to examine your poor choices. Do you know what’s even more painful? Making the same mistake again. Take a little time to figure out what you can learn from your unwise decision.

2. Move on. There’s nothing to be gained by dwelling on your mistakes. A poor decision that you’ve never made before isn’t a bad thing. It’s just life.

3. Take responsibility. You were part of the problem. There’s no getting around it. Taking responsibility allows you to retain control of the situation. You made the mess, so you can fix it.

4. Talk it out. If you can’t let go of your mistake, spend some time talking with a loyal friend. An outsider often has a more reasonable perspective. Pick up the phone and give someone a call.

5. Stay present. It’s easy to let your mind run wild after making a poor choice. There’s nothing to see there. It’s hard to stay in the present moment when things are going wrong all around you. Allowing your mind to wander is just a form of distraction. Pay attention to what is happening right now.

6. Take preventative measures in the future. How can you prevent a similar occurrence in the future? Did you put yourself into a situation where no good option existed? Or did you merely make the wrong call?

7. Remember what you still have. You may have lost your business or your partner, but that doesn’t have to be the end of the world. Take a moment to remind yourself of the wonderful things you still have.

8. Forgive yourself. Everyone makes more than a few mistakes. Accept the consequences of your choice and move forward. It’s impossible to always make perfect decisions.

9. Remember that your next good decision will feel that much better. A vacation only feels good because you contrast it with work. Spend six months in a Florida condo and see how excited you still are. Your bad decisions make your good decisions that much more enjoyable.

10. You are not your decisions. You are separate from the choices you make. Bad choices don’t make you bad any more than good decisions make you good. Your decisions don’t define you.

Bad decisions aren’t all that bad after all. In fact, you can benefit from all your previous bad choices right now. Make a list of every poor decision you’ve ever made. Now, go through the process of learning from each of them. What are the lessons you can learn? Imagine if you had done this same process after each mistake was made. Your life would be very different.

Everyone makes bad decisions. The key is to make the most of them. Spend a few minutes each week reviewing your bad choices and learn from them. Most importantly, avoid repeating them. Move on from your bad decisions and benefit from them.

Filed Under: Embracing change, Encouragement Tagged With: bad decisions

Previous Post: « The Skill of Problem Solving
Next Post: Challenge your toxic beliefs »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Leanne | www.crestingthehill.com.au

    May 30, 2018 at 2:54 am

    I’m very fortunate in that I haven’t made any life altering bad decisions – there have been lots of small ones along the way, but nothing earth shattering. I recently upset my adult daughter and she decided to be offended for several months – so much pain and for such a small thing. Life is teaching me to accept things and move on – choosing to let the bad stuff get to us, or taking offence at small slights is such a waste of energy.

    Thanks for linking up with us at #MLSTL and I’ve shared this on my SM xx
    Leanne | http://www.crestingthehill.com.au

  2. Jean | DelightfulRepast.com

    May 30, 2018 at 7:52 am

    I like your common-sense approach and agree it’s less painful to examine a mistake than repeat it!

  3. Victoria

    May 30, 2018 at 10:04 am

    I like what you said about bad decisions making good decisions seem so much better so true. But like most I tend to beat myself up when I make a bad decision and it takes me awhile to put it behind me.

  4. Christie Hawkes

    May 30, 2018 at 1:15 pm

    Very good advice. Sometimes it helps if I think about what I would say if it were may best friend examining a bad decision. I would be more compassionate and objective for sure. I like your suggestion to look at some bad choices from the past, now that hopefully the emotional intensity has lessened, and analyze what you’ve learned. It could definitely help with future decisions, but also help you to realize a bad decision is not the end of the world. You survived! I found your post on #MLSTL.

  5. Karen Hume

    May 30, 2018 at 7:42 pm

    Thanks for the reassuring and timely post. I’m currently in the process of reversing a bad decision I made almost four years ago. I appreciate being reminded that there’s much to gain from reviewing any decision, but particularly the bad ones, and then moving on. #MLSTL

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Hi, I’m Christine

Have you been a wholehearted mother, but time, toddlers and teenagers have moved on? If you are wondering what comes next for you, you’ll feel right at home here.

Or, are you a mom for whom family life has been non-Pinworthy and parenting has been downright painful? I hear ya. There are many of us around.

Are you looking for a life full of exploration and adventure after the nest empties, but maybe you have no idea how to go about doing that? Stick around! We’ll explore adventures together to help you gain more clarity for your own path.

After a couple decades of writing books and articles about parenting, homeschooling and adoption, speaking to homeschoolers and other parent groups, and reaching out to the mom in the trenches who was trying to make the best of it - my kids grew up. Some grew up and grew away. I was determined to find a way out of the pain, emptiness and lack of direction.

For many of us, the journey starts with something we moms are not accustomed to. After years of caring for and serving others, sometimes we forget the beauty and wonder of US. We need to spend some time getting to know the parts of ourselves that have lain dormant, and take the time to explore interests and passions that we set aside.

I’d like to invite you to get the “What’s Next for Mom” workbook and jump into this growing tribe of Moms who are emptying the nest and filling the life! Let’s reignite your Mojo after Mothering!
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About Christine

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At Real Mom Life, my passion is to provide resources and reassurances for moms facing the surprising challenges of family life. In my writing and speaking, I explore solutions to unexpected issues in adoption, homeschooling, special needs, and more while encouraging moms to extract the maximum joy out of each day. Read More…

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