1. A mistake remains forever a mistake unless you take responsibility for it and learn from it. When you do, a mistake becomes an opportunity.

2. When you make a mistake, don't waste time blaming others, justifying the mistake for the sake of your ego, pouting over it, or getting fustrated. Acknowledge your mistake and simply say, "Yes, I made a mistake."

3. Once you acknowledge that you have made a mistake, self-learning needs to occur; you need to learn how not to do it again. Evaluate the situation you were in when you made the mistake. Do your best to identify what caused the mistake. Did you lack focus on the task at hand, were you rushed or distracted, did you fail to think about consequences, or was there something else that caused the mistake?

4. Find out what went wrong, and then correct your mistake as soon as possible. If a mistake can't be corrected, learn from it so it doesn't happen again. If you repeat the same mistake over and over, you are not taking advantage of the opportunity a mistake for self-learning and self-improvement.

5. If your mistake has hurt someone, an apology at a minimum, and sometimes resitution, is called for. The best way to approach this is to be genuinely sincere, and do what is appropriate and commensurate with the gravity of the mistake.

6. Avoid dwelling on mistakes of the past because they can bring with them a fair number of negative thoughts, such as feelings of guilt. What has happened in the pa st has happened. Learn from your mistakes and move on. View them as positive opportunities for self-learning and imroving your life.