The Science of Mistakes
In this insightful article, discover the reasons behind our repetitive mistakes and learn how to break free from negative patterns. Find out why changing behavior can be as challenging as quitting an addiction and how emotions play a significant role in our decision-making process.
The Science of Mistakes – Why Our Brains Keep Leading Us Down the Same Path
First and foremost, if you’ve concluded that you make the same mistakes, you’re already ahead. This is because recognizing your mistakes and challenges means you’ve taken the first step towards transforming negative patterns: becoming aware of them. Otherwise, how could you change anything if you’re unaware of your mistakes? Many people repeat the same mistakes, even with the same outcomes. When aware of the mistakes, guilt arises. If not, we blame others, which is the worst attitude and hinders our growth. So, why do we keep making the same mistakes? Find out in this article!
“Experience is the name we give to our mistakes.”
~ Oscar Wilde
We know that changing behavior isn’t always easy, especially when it’s a pattern, a mechanism we react to without always realizing it. Altering a behavioral pattern is almost like quitting an addiction, something painful that requires a lot of willpower. Scientific experiments prove that emotions and thoughts can be as addictive as drugs: heroin uses the same cell receptors as our emotions.
Our emotional comfort zone is seductive, offering security and deceiving us about who we are: it pulls us into a spiral of sensations that aren’t genuine. They were developed as a defense mechanism to protect us. Sometimes, this “something” didn’t even happen in this life, meaning we might be experiencing echoes from past lives due to their impact on our spirit.
But don’t worry; this tendency to repeat mistakes is typical of the human condition. Looking at history, can we say we’ve learned from our mistakes? Persistence is key.
“History teaches that governments and people never learn from history.”
~ Hegel
WHY DO WE KEEP MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES? ESTABLISHING PATTERNS
Many reasons and possibilities can help us better understand and identify these emotional and behavioral patterns. Unknowingly, we maintain our emotional baggage day after day through repetition. Repetitioning certain patterns, like consistently choosing the wrong people to relate to, aims to keep us in the “known” and safe realm. Or it might show us that some aspect of our soul or personality related to the activity needs work.
PAST LIVES
As mentioned earlier, some people carry traumas from past lives without awareness. A past event profoundly influenced that soul that the scars are deep enough to transcend death. That spirit, trying to protect itself from what happened, develops a standard behavior (usually harmful) and continues with it for years, unable to identify the origin of that behavior, sensation, or phobia.
FAMILY EXCLUSION
In family constellations, we have a different perspective. Some patterns might not directly relate to the person but to past family events involving relatives. The pattern or person once ignored or excluded persists for generations until it’s seen, recognized, and addressed.
LESSONS LEARNED IN CHILDHOOD
Another explanation is that, during early childhood, we unconsciously absorb certain family information and emotions in specific situations. Based on these impressions, we build a chain of behaviors that serve as a defense for us.
PSYCHOANALYSIS
Psychoanalysis also offers its perspective on why we keep making the same mistakes. J. D. Nasio’s book “Why Do We Repeat the Same Mistakes?” provides an interesting view.
HOW TO CHANGE PATTERNS AND STOP MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES
How can we help ourselves not fall into vicious behavior cycles anymore? Besides the will, can we do something to assist us on this transformative journey?
Yes! Self-awareness. It’s that simple. Looking within is the first step and the secret to any process, perhaps even life. Identifying the sources, the roots of the problem, and the reasons that make us go in circles and feed destructive behavior patterns, always making the same mistakes, is our source of healing.
From there, the journey is very individual and subjective. Seeking is the only way you’ll find; this process is slow.
If the nature of your problem is easily identifiable, like childhood trauma or parents’ separation, seeking therapy and psychoanalysis might be enough. But they alone don’t always solve the issue, and the results of any traditional therapy can be maximized when combined with alternative therapies.
And, of course, we can never forget the miraculous duo of yoga and meditation. They alone can work wonders!
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