The Biggest Mistake I’ve Ever Made

Mistakes, We’ve Had a Few

Making mistakes kinda comes with the territory of being human.

Even Pope (the poet, not the Head of the Catholic Church) once said, “to err is human.”

Therefore, if you’re human, it’s safe to say that you’ve made a mistake or two (or a few) in your life.

The thing with mistakes is that they are usually easily quantifiable and measurable.

For example, you have minor mistakes which can be easily amended and “forgotten,” like missing an appointment with your hairdresser because you didn’t set the reminder right. The hairdresser may or may not be happy about it, but generally, it will not disrupt the space-time continuum nor have a drastic effect on your life.

Some mistakes are more impactful, like not filing for a loan on time, and losing the opportunity to buy the house of your dreams, or hesitating to apply for a project because you didn’t think you were ready, and watching someone less qualified get it.

And yet there are mistakes that cannot be erased, cannot be reversed, or undone – such as not saying I love you, I forgive you, or I’m sorry to your loved ones, and then never been given a chance to do that again.

This category also includes the mistakes you’ve made against yourself, and they may not necessarily be related to your well-being or mental health.

I’ve Had This One Too Many Times

For me, one such mistake is not recording everything I’ve ever done. Officially. Somewhere – out there.

I started writing a blog in 2023, after many, many years of “starting” but never actually doing anything in that regard.

And that has been officially the greatest thing I’ve ever done – for myself. Not only is it therapeutic, but it adds a sense of continuity and consistency, and well – substance – I’ve never had. No, scratch that – I never knew I needed.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been versatile, and there isn’t a thing I haven’t tried or haven’t been good at.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m far from perfect, but if I really like something, and if I put my mind, heart, and soul into it, there isn’t a thing in this world, or out of it, that might stop me from doing it.

It was in 2010 that I met my (now) best friend. He was so impressed with my little shenanigans that he surprised me for my birthday with a domain with my pseudonym that I used to write short stories and poetry.

He said, “use it as a journal, and write everything you do. You don’t have to share it, keep if for yourself – but write.”

But since he was an IT guy, and I was a Language girl, the whole web thing seemed intimidating, and I never really did anything. After a few years, he gave up on waiting for me and canceled the domain subscription.

At the time, I founded LingoLero, my language school, and started a blog a few years later as part of the website. Learning WordPress was like obtaining a PhD in Rocket Science, and I was so proud of myself for that little achievement.

A few years later, I rebranded the website and started with the blog – anew.

In the meantime, I had a bunch of “creative” projects, like LingoBag – hand-painted tote bags, and then My Little Creative Workshop, under which I did a number of creative mini-projects, like paintings, bookmarks, totes, etc. Not to mention, strictly business-speaking, all the amazing courses I designed, materials I created, and workshops I held.

But every time I got inspiration, it was out with the old and in with the new, and just like that – I deleted all my old projects to make space for the new ones. Like they actually couldn’t coexist. Like they actually needed space. But what was actually needed was for me to reconcile my desire to reinvent myself with the “old” version of me.

To digress a bit – during the Croatian Homeland War, one of the aggressor’s officials (I know the name, but I don’t think they deserve any mention in history, so I’ll just skip it) said, roughly translated, “It doesn’t matter if we destroy (it), we’ll make a nicer and older one.”

For years, I’ve thought this to be the dumbest sentence ever, but for years, I’ve been living it every single day over and over again.

In 2021, when I got ill, I realized that life is so short and not worth living if you’re not doing what you’re supposed to and what makes you happy (newsflash: doing what you’re supposed to makes you happy, and vice versa), so I wound down the school, registered PREXcoaching® across the globe, and painfully realized that – I’ve got the best thing in the whole world, but I have no (written, officially recorded) proof of how I got to it.

Aside from the testimonials of those who were with me on this wonderful journey the entire time (which includes some of my friends, associates, and clients), and a bunch of files, photos, and art/work pieces scattered through different drives, USBs, or basements, I don’t have a single place where everything flows naturally from one thing to another, making a logical – the only logical – sequence and conclusion.

A Lesson I’ll Never Forget

So yeah. Some mistakes are irreversible. But here’s the thing with these kinds of mistakes: even though they cannot be undone, it’s so easy not to repeat them, much easier than the trivial ones. Just – do differently, do it now, and they will never happen again.

Sure, you cannot say that unsaid I love you or I’m sorry, but you can say I love you and I’m sorry to someone who matters now, and you will never regret it again.

And you may not undo 10+ years of not recording everything you’ve done, but you can start recording now, and in next 10+ years, you will not think, “Oh I wish I did that,” – you’ll think, “I’m so thankful I did that.”

Trust me, I can tell you after only two years – it’s true. Imagine what it will be like after 10 years or so.

And yes, it’s easy to cry over spilled milk, but believe me – it’s so much easier just to move on. It may not seem like it now, but your future self will thank you.

Every single second of our lives, we get the chance to change anything we’re not happy with. It’s only us that’s preventing us from doing that.

P.S. I’m not comfortable with publishing this, but I feel at peace with my Self for doing so.

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