Confidence, Feelings, Happiness, Inspiration, Moving Forward, Regret, Success

It’s OK to Make Mistakes

I came across the following quote the other day, which got me thinking:

“Everyone makes mistakes in life, but that doesn’t mean they have to pay for them for the rest of their life. Sometimes good people make bad choices. It doesn’t mean they’re bad… it means they’re human!”

We’ve all been there. We’ve all made bad decisions. We’ve hurt others, we’ve even hurt ourselves. But rather than feel ashamed and disgraced, we need to move forward from the past. Even if we make mistakes now and again, that does not mean we are bad people.

Our darkest moments

I remember vividly what life was like back in 2006. I was 17 years old and in a really bad place. I thought I was unworthy of being loved; I felt really alone. I drank to make myself feel better, lacked self-respect, and was oblivious to the consequences of my actions. I made decisions that could’ve cost me my life and my future.

Whenever I think back to that time, I feel so ashamed of myself. I feel like a disgrace to my children now; I almost feel like a hypocrite.

 Photo Credit: graur codrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We’ve all made mistakes

But then I look at it from another angle..

How many of us have been young and stupid?
How many of us have drank their sorrows away?
How many of us have done things we would never dare to do now?

The reality is, most of us have done those things. And all of us probably feel ashamed about it.

But bad decisions don’t make you a bad person. Mistakes don’t have to define you. They can be stepping stones to finding out who you are.

Hope for the future

Since meeting my husband, I’ve never drank to make myself feel better. I’ve never done anything that wouldn’t make my children proud.

I’ve drank three times in 5 and a half years, spent almost everyday with my children, and juggle my time between being a mother, wife, and writer.

That person back then wasn’t the real me.

This is me –  the mother who spends hours rushing her kids to their appointments, the wife who supports her husband when he needs to work late, and the writer who wants to make a difference in the world.

We’ve all made mistakes before. But don’t let the past define who you are…

Only YOU define who that person is.

This post was featured on Digital Parents.

Thuy Le (formerly known as Thuy Yau) is a freelance writer and Youth Work graduate living in Perth, Australia. She loves to share her own personal experiences about overcoming adversity, as she believes that human beings are more capable than they realise. She writes to make a positive difference in the world and to inspire others to learn from themselves and their own experiences. Her writing has been discussed on radio, won writing contests, appeared on The Huffington Post UK and major Australian sites such as news.com.au, SMH, Kidspot and Essential Kids. She has just completed her first book – a memoir - and is on the search for a publisher.

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