A free and quick slideshare with tips for moving past mistakes and feeling good about yourself.

1. QUIT HITTING YOURSELF
This image was originally posted to Flickr by Alex E. Proimos at http://flickr.com/photos/34120957@N04/4199675334 under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

2. We’ve all had cringe-inducing moments that we wish we
could erase. You yelled at your kids or snapped at your
spouse. You said something inappropriate or failed to say
something important. You blew a big opportunity or you
made a stupid mistake.
And now you sit replaying the guilt/embarrassment/failure
over and over and over again in your mind.
You are mentally hitting yourself.
Image courtesy of chris 論 (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC
BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

3. Acknowledge
your mistake
(and prepare to move on)
Admit you screwed up, allow yourself to feel the pain, and
then remind yourself that you are human.
You are not perfect and never will be.

4. Apologize
If you’re in the wrong, you know it,
and this is one reason why you keep mentally hitting
yourself.
Don’t let your guilt fester and don’t procrastinate —
hoping it will all just go away.
Take a deep breath,
muster your courage,
and apologize promptly and sincerely.

5. Your mistakes
don’t define you
(allow them to refine you)
Think about why you feel bad? Was this a one-time incident or is it
something indicative of a shortcoming or defect you dislike about
yourself? Can you do something to address the issue?
Then start doing it!
Action will alleviate the discomfort and shift your perspective.

6. Running Mental
Roadblocks
(accentuate the positive)
When you are feeling down, it’s hard to get motivated.
Think about a few of your closest friends. What admirable
qualities do they possess? How do they inspire you?
Recall a particularly fun time you shared and savor the
memory for a few moments.
If these great folks are your friends, you must have some
pretty great qualities yourself!
Photo credit: zita952
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

7. Boost Your
Own Morale
Make a list of five things you like about yourself and five
accomplishments that make you proud. It doesn’t have to
include anything earth-shattering and can be as simple as
noting that you have a good sense of humor, are an
excellent Monopoly player, or can flip an omelette without
a spatula.
The point is to force yourself to focus on your positives.

8. Do
Something
Nice
Random acts of kindness make the world a better place
and will make you feel better about yourself.
Donate a pint of blood, pick up trash in a park or at the
beach, leave a dollar in the lotto machine, or let the
person behind you go first at the DMV.

9. Put a little
Stuart Smalley in your
day
Though it may feel silly, treat yourself to an internal pep
talk à la Al Franken’s classic SNL character and his daily
affirmations (“I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and
doggone it, people like me”).

10. Quit Hitting Yourself!
Take heart in the fact that if you feel rotten about
your blunders, it means you actually care about
who you are and how you are perceived. Self
criticism is characteristic of growth, but there are
limits. Obsessing about your errors does nothing
to mitigate them or prevent recurrence. While we
can all laugh at the Angel meme, or the Ace
Ventura scene, or Ed Norton smacking himself
around in Fight Club — you don’t want to let your
internal Tyler Durden run amok.

11. • Produced by Deirdre Blake
(Andersen), 2015, for the free use
of anyone who’s got a problem with
sticking themselves in the stocks or
beating themselves over the head
with a stick (figuratively, of course;
if you are actually beating yourself
over the head with a stick, seek
medical attention immediately.)
• All images used under Wikimedia
Commons and Creative Commons
unrestricted licensing. Attribution
included where applicable.