Mistakes

One of my favorite quotes says, "Everyone's been calling their mistakes, experience lately." I am all for living without regrets. But I believe the way to do this is to live your life as mistake-free as possible. I believe that most people who boast about how every slip-up is a learning experience, deep down wish they never made that mistake. They continuously tell themselves that what they did was okay because they "learned" from it, even though they continue to make the same decisions. How much of a learning experience is it, if you obviously didn't learn anything at all? So, you must then conclude that it was not a learning experience and therefore was just a mistake or a bad choice as originally stated.
There is a solution to all of this. And it is very simple. Think before you act. Think about what you have to say before you say it. Think about every decision that you make and make sure that it is something you can live with after the fact. If you think about your choices before you make them, you will never have to wonder, "what if?"
Having that "what if?" feeling, is the worst feeling. It is worse than feeling like you failed because at least if you failed, you tried.
For instance, my decision to drop out of college and move to New York City was thought out, planned, and carefully executed. I made my decision to move four months before doing so. I started researching areas to live in, I got signed with an agency in the city, and got a roommate to move with. I went to college for one more semester as to not waste my time before the move. I wanted to finish a semester and not drop out in the middle of one. If I had, I would have lost money and time.
I can honestly say that I do not regret moving to New York and I do not consider it a mistake. Some people say that dropping out of college is a mistake, but after I've told them my successes, they tend to change their attitude. Dropping out of college can be a mistake, but it doesn't have to be. At least, not for everybody. If you have a no fail attitude, you can't fail. If you go into something thinking that you won't succeed, you won't.
So give it your best shot. Try to live a mistake free life. Stop making excuses for yourself, and stop telling yourself that what you are doing is okay because you'll learn from it. Learn from it! If you make a mistake, actually change your behavior to prevent the same mistakes form happening over and over. You know right from wrong, don't try to convince yourself or others that doing something wrong is suddenly okay. No excuses.
I don't think I need to write a list here of immoral or unsafe mistakes you could possibly make. You can all figure that one out on your own.
Here's to starting off the summer making wise, safe, thought out choices.
xoxo