When you make a bad decision you have realized it, it is possible that your stomach turns suddenly and you regret it. We have all made a bad decision at some time in our life and it is very likely that you also know this feeling: at the moment you made the decision it seemed to be the right one, but later you realized that it was not the case.

Maybe you left your job for a new one and when you started that new job you realized that you had made a mistake. Maybe you broke up with your partner in a heated moment, only to find out later that this was the last thing you wanted to do. Or maybe you made a big purchase, like a car or a house, and then had the feeling of buyer regret.

We are all human, which means that we are not immune from making bad decisions from time to time. Although we cannot go back in time and change our choice, we can lessen the impact it has on us. If you have recently made a bad decision and you regret it, do not miss these tips that will help you better cope with that emotional blow.

Accept your emotions

Suppressing your emotions will get you nowhere.  It is important to focus first on how you feel. The first step is to acknowledge what has happened and how you have felt about it. Ignoring or pretending leaves the pain open. If you cut yourself, you wouldn’t pretend it didn’t happen or that you don’t care … You’d handle it and seek professional help . If you think this is right for you, consider going to therapy, which can help you get over what happened. You can also record your emotions or speak with a close confidant.

Once you’ve recognized and accepted the emotions you have after a bad decision, one of the best things you can do is focus on the facts. You have to get out of the emotions and stress to really see the facts of the situation. Ask yourself: what is currently happening? What do I really want? How can I work productively toward that goal given the situation I’m in? You can fight for the goal. If that happens, it is advisable to write about the situation or get an outside perspective by talking to a close friend or family member.

Don’t let a bad decision consume you

It is important that you mentally separate yourself from the decision , because it is something that has happened but that you cannot change, you can simply improve your future. Once you’ve made a bad decision, you may give it a lot of meaning that it doesn’t inherently have. It is useless to think disparaging things towards ourselves. It can be very difficult to move on with life if we are stuck in that mindset.

We have to decide, just when the mistake occurs , that we are going to learn from it and use it as a momentum generator to move forward. If we eliminate the error of the negative meaning that we give it, we can use it as useful data to move forward and make decisions more consistent with the success we want.

Forgive yourself

Don’t be too hard on yourself over a bad decision. The most important step of all is that you know how to forgive yourself. We become our own worst enemy with bad decisions. We spend too much energy wallowing in guilt instead of using that to go to our next move … Use the failure of your bad decision as a lever for future success. Mistakes are essential to success … You will make them, but what determines your future success is how you respond to it.

Accept your regret

After making a bad decision, your mind will probably flood with regret. It turns out that this regret can be a powerful tool. Regret can help you remember the things you want to avoid in life and actually help you make better decisions . Accept your regret and move on.

If your regret consumes you, try practicing gratitude. We all regret, the things we wish we had done differently or didn’t say. But those regrets don’t have to control you. You have to learn to control your thoughts to see the positive instead of the negative. One way to see the positives is by practicing gratitude . Each morning, make a list of three or five things that you are grateful for …  This will help you lessen the hold that regret has over you.

Elle Mcdonald

I am Elle Mcdonald Specializations in Psychology . Graduated in psychology from the University of Tennessee in 2000. Diploma of Advanced Studies in the Department of Personality, Evaluation and psychological treatments with excellent results.

First Level of Master in Clinical Psychology at the Center for Behavioral Therapists (recognized with a scientific-professional nature by the College of Psychologists)

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