Mistakes offer learning and growth. Your blunders teach you nobody is perfect and make it simpler to absolve other people’s errors. You become more charitable and gain greater insight when you slip-up and strive to improve. Navigating your bungles without becoming negative isn’t always simple, though. Here’s why your mistakes are valuable and how to make the most of them.

Accept your mistakes

If you endeavor to be perfect, your mistakes sting. But they teach you a valuable lesson when you let go of the ambition to be flawless and trust yourself. Acceptance involves being your best friend. It shows you how to be kind to yourself and others who aren’t perfect either. Further, it boosts confidence because it means you stop self-vilification when you slip-up. You accept that mistakes are reasonable and they make you wiser.

Acceptance will flow when you stop judging yourself after gaffes. Look at what’s transpired so you understand where you went awry, but don’t slate your choices. You did what you felt was best at the time with the know-how available. No one could do more. Or perhaps you were absent-minded because of fatigue or confusion. Either way, recognize you can’t change what’s happened. You can learn from it and be smarter next time, though.

You can also self-soothe. Take deep steadying breaths and give yourself a hug–albeit an imaginary one–just as you might do for a great friend when they make a mistake. Know that blunders are healthy and part of life’s rich tapestry. Let acceptance permeate your mind.

As you relax, remember your mistakes are key to advanced understanding and improved relationships. Allow gratitude for the lessons you’re learning, to take the place of self-denunciation. Consider yourself a scholar who’s here to learn and that mistakes are part of the process.

Your mistakes are crucial for growth, so appreciate their significance. Acknowledge they shape you and raise your awareness and intelligence, and they will no longer be so painful.