Some mistakes are awful. Really awful.

Some are even destructive. No way to fix them.

Of course, you didn’t mean it. And that’s why you feel so guilty.

Even explaining how and why it happened is already painful.

I am no exception. I know how it feels. Seriously. (I did something really awful recently.)

Hey. No pressure. Keep your “awful mistakes” a secret if you think that’s more helpful.

But if those mistakes keep bothering you and the guilt seems consuming your thoughts, remember: Your mistakes don’t define you as a person.

You made a mistake — and that’s it. That’s not who you are.

You can’t change the past. It already happened.

It’s pointless to hate yourself or get angry at yourself.

You’re imperfect. You’re a work in progress. And you’ll always be.

You can feel remorse about it. But life doesn’t end there.

Accept what happened. Learn from it. Forgive yourself. And promise yourself (or your loved ones) that you’ll never commit that again.

Your mistakes are learning opportunities — not a punishment.

That’s how you move on.