We all make mistakes. I’ve made more than my fair share of them. I cringe when I think of some of the decisions I’ve made and the repercussions that they have had in my life.
One of the mistakes I made when I renovated a house was to listen to a friend and hire his painter. The first day of painting seemed to go well, but after that it was all downhill. The painter was hung over every morning and it seemed as though he was on drugs. He was erratic, working fast at times and then slumping down during lunchtime and falling asleep.
Later I discovered that my friend wanted the painter off his back because he was trying to loan money from him all the time.
Needless to say, the next painter I hired was just as bad, but in another way. He was sloppy, uncommunicative, and there are still paint marks all over the place because of his shoddy work.
The third painter was just as bad, but his game was to spend as long as he could on the job so that he could earn more money.
But there are also those small mistakes that niggle at you. I bought some Vienna sausages at a supermarket and thought they looked good, only to find out that they bloated my stomach because I think they were mostly made of maize meal with extremely little meat.
I made a big mistake selecting estate agents when I was selling my duplex some time back. Lo and behold, all these estate agents, and I think I appointed about five of them, were useless in selling my property. The last one brought me offers that were more in favor of buyers than me, the seller.
It’s a sore point. I had to take the knock of the lower price on my chin. But the market at the time was down, and it was better to sell, invest the money, and move on with my life.
Relationships is a big area. The people you get involved with seem great when you first meet them, and soon you’re only too eager to get out of the relationship. I was once besotted with a young woman. One evening when I went to see her I found her passionately kissing another young man.
Possibly the biggest mistake I make from time to time is regretting and dwelling on past mistakes. It’s hard to let go of them but you have to. It’s better to move on, cut your losses and forget about it. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? But if you don’t you’ll become miserable and prevent yourself from moving forward. After a bad knock, it’s better to go blank slate, learn from the mistakes you’ve made and go out and live life.
