RESPECTING OUR IMPERFECT SELVES

We all make decisions we later regret.  For many of us, myself included, this happens much more frequently than we like to admit.  In fact, I think we generally waste a lot of valuable time and effort NOT admitting our accepting our mistakes.  Our culture supports, defends, even molds this behavior by holding up in our face, through media, advertising, etc., the concept that mistakes are bad, that indeed, idealistic perfection exists, and we can all have it if we all look just like the emaciated models, buy the right car, have the right job and friends, live in the right neighborhood.  Most of us know that this is myth and marketing deception, but we get ourselves wrapped up in it to some degree anyway.

  It is, in my opinion, when we can  loose our angst for perfection, when we can respect ourselves enough to admit our mistakes to ourselves and others, that we can then have the freedom to make better choices.  Not only can we learn from our mistakes, we can clear out the emotional space to be more able to make more rational choices.  When we are able to clear out shame, guilt and overburdened regret, then we have potential for self-forgiveness, acceptance and confident humility.