Remember, You’re Not Defined By The Mistakes You’ve Made

“Nobody’s perfect” is something we hear over and over again when we’re growing up. We get constant reassurance that it’s okay to mess up, and comforting reminders that sometimes we’ll fall short of others’ expectations. 

When we’re young, it’s easy to remember that mistakes happen. We brush them off, pick ourselves up and keep going. But for some reason, when we’re older, we hold ourselves to impossible standards.

We refuse to accept when we screw up. We are unable to move past experiences that we wish we had handled differently. We are our own worst critics and are we ruthless.  Somewhere along the way, we decided that it was easier to feel bad than to face the reality that we won’t always do everything right. And we are completely unable to cut ourselves any slack.

But we have to try. So the next time things don’t go as planned, or you’re less than proud of your actions, remember this: 

No matter what you’ve done, or what you’ve been through, you are not your mistakes.

You are not defined by the things you’ve done that you wish you could take back. You are not defined by the things you said that you wish you hadn’t. You are not defined by the chances you didn’t take. Your worth and your purpose exist on a higher level than you can possibly understand at this moment. All you can do is trust. Trust in yourself to learn from your mistakes. Trust the people around you to lift you up when you need an extra hand. Trust the universe that everything works out exactly how it should.  

You are not the only person who has regrets. You are not the only person who wishes they could turn back time. And you are not the only person who feels like the weight of the world is too much sometimes.  

Only you can decide your fate. Only you can remind yourself that you are good enough. And being too hard on yourself is a mistake you can’t take back.

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The Hero Collection by NYCountry Swag is inspired by the men and women of the Fire, Police and Military Departments across the country. A portion of sales from each purchase is donated to different foundations that support our heroes. We are dedicated to honoring their service and remembering their sacrifice.