Have you ever made a mistake?  (Of course, you have!  Who hasn’t?) Have you ever repeated the same mistake; you know – made ‘it’ again? (Of course, you have!  Who hasn’t?) Are you curious to know why people make mistakes?  And why they repeat mistakes?   Would you like to stop making mistakes?

More often than not, making mistakes and repeating them has something to do with ‘consequences,’ as in being aware that there are consequences!!!  And / or – are the consequences of the mistake large enough to register in a big way, so that when you next reach for the ‘thing’ that sent electric shocks through your body, you back off before shocking yourself again!

What stops people from being aware of the plausible consequences???

Lack of Knowledge – My friend lives in a high-rise apartment in NYC.  Last week, her apartment, as well as the hallway and elevator, were filled with noxious fumes. Apparently, her neighbor – a countryGirl turned cityGirl  – erroneously thought that if she opened all her windows, there would be enough ventilation to enable her to safely spray paint furniture in her apartment. (Jaw-dropping thinking?) Sometimes we make mistakes, because we just don’t know any better.  Hopefully, there will be no more spray-painting! Lack of knowledge; plain and simple.

Amnesia – I’ve noticed that especially when it comes to food, people develop amnesia.  For instance, my friend Betty gets a terrible headache if she partakes in more than two glasses of red wine (per meal); yet, the other night while dining together, she ingested three full glasses and sure enough, she regretted it in the morning.  She said, “I keep forgetting that too much wine gives me a killer headache.”  Hmmmm…. Perhaps, the pain from these headaches isn’t painful enough for her to remember to stop after her second drink. Maybe next time?

Huh? There’s Another Way? – Sometimes people make repeat mistakes because they do not know that there’s another way.   Mary is not very good at math and consequently, she consistently makes accounting errors resulting in bounced checks and high bank fees! Mary didn’t realize that she could change her checking account to an overdraft checking account.   Now that she knows, all is well!

Everyone makes mistakes.  Hopefully, we learn from them and remember enough not to repeat them!