Dwelling

…and no I am not talking about the place we live in. Rather, I am referring to when we make a mistake, or perhaps when we forget to do something (and subsequently “kick ourselves over and over again because of it”), and then refusing to let “it” go. Many of you know what I am talking about…it probably happened to you today (or like me, yesterday!) Thus it perpetuates a relentless and unhealthy cycle of making further mistakes, and continuing to rehash all these moments over and over again until we make ourselves so agitated that we lose sleep over it, or at the very least, drives not only ourselves but others crazy. (Since I know the signs of “dwelling”, I didn’t let my moment get that far!)

Dwelling on the things that don’t go well during every day living is waste of one of the most important resources we have – time. With our busy lives, there is precious little of it to waste on these futile endeavors. What we should be doing is taking these hiccups and using them as a learning tool for the future.

Say, for example, when starting a new job like I just recently did, is it safe to say that no one is expecting perfection right out the gate? Naturally, but if you’re a perfectionist, take the utmost pride in your work and have a tendency to value self worth by these things (and that will be a topic for another day), then making even the smallest of mistakes can become your downfall.

A much better way to deal with these little nuggets of useful information is to file them away and bring them out when they are needed the most. Using the past to help the present and the future is really the best way to make the most of a bad situation. Take ownership of the mistake (again, another topic I want to talk about in a future post), admit fault (out loud if needed), and remember what happened so it won’t be repeated again in the future.

Experience is a great source to draw upon to help bring about success in everything that we do. Remember… it’s better to be “well” in the situation than to “dwell” on the situation.