How to Recover from Mistakes

By Lauren Rose Correa, November 1, 2025

Something we can’t escape from in this fallen world: we all make mistakes. In fact, I’m writing this blog post as a reminder to myself and my husband. Today, both of us made a few silly mistakes, and we needed a reminder that they are unavoidable. What’s important is knowing how to recover from mistakes we will inevitably make.

The mistakes we made today were no big deal in the grand scheme of things. But sometimes, the mistakes we make are much bigger. For you, it could be a costly mistake you made on the job, or a situation you wish you had handled differently. Perhaps your mistake even ruined your reputation or led to you experiencing what it’s like to be “cancelled.”

For me, a mistake that lingers in my mind is my struggle with psychosis. While I didn’t have control over the fact that I experienced this, there are a lot of things that I wish I had handled differently both in events leading up to my first episode and in the aftermath. This first episode was very public, and the reaction was very negative and uninformed. I understand what cancel culture must feel like, because I lost a lot of friends and hardly anyone was concerned for my well-being. I tried my best to repair things afterwards, but I made a lot of mistakes in the process, and I know I didn’t handle everything perfectly.

It’s easy to replay these mistakes in my mind, wishing I had done things differently. I often wonder if things would be different now if I had done things in an alternate way.

Perhaps you’ve found yourself in this cycle. If you can’t seem to get past your mistakes, there are some things you should be reminding yourself. Here are some of the things I try to meditate on when I’m stuck on my past mistakes.

Remember You Are Not Perfect

We live in a fallen world, and we are not perfect. We are prone to mistakes, and we can’t fully avoid them on this side of eternity. Don’t hold yourself to a standard of perfection, because you will fall short.

Remind Yourself That You Are Not Alone

Fortunately, you are not the only fallen and imperfect person. You are surrounded by others just like you. Ground yourself in the reality that you are not alone in your brokenness, even if it feels that way.

View Mistakes as an Opportunity to Learn

Mistakes are inevitable, but we can choose not to make the same ones over and over. If you do something wrong, see what you can learn from the experience. View it as a chance to grow and do better.

Apologize and Make Amends

If your mistakes have affected someone else, be sure to make a genuine apology and make amends. Don’t try to hide your mistakes or avoid taking ownership of them. Don’t try to blame someone else or make excuses. Instead, be honest, take responsibility, and make things right. I have found that taking this step helps me to stop thinking about the mistake so much if it’s something I’ve been ruminating on.

Give Yourself Grace

God gives us so much grace when we confess our sins to him. It’s important that we also give grace to ourselves. Don’t deal with yourself harshly. Be gentle and kind to yourself, and know that this is exactly what God would do.

Ignore People Who Refuse to Give You Grace

I think one of the hardest situations to be in is to have made a public mistake in front of ungracious people. I’ve been there. It’s painful, it can be embarrassing, it can be hard to recover from. But if God gives you grace, then people who refuse to give it to you are not acting godly. Choose to disregard the opinions of people who won’t forgive you for your past mistakes. Do your best to grow and move on, and don’t listen to anyone who won’t allow you to do that.

How to Recover from Mistakes: Moving On

What comes to your mind first when you think of mistakes you’ve made? How can you change your thinking to help you learn how to recover from mistakes you’ve made? Give your mistakes over to God and let him work healing, forgiveness, and growth in your life.