"... Be very careful when you dig up the past... For the most part, it isn’t helpful when you’re facing a current decision, and trying to learn from your mistakes can be a very ineffective way to change future behavior for the better." - Kelly Haws, professor of marketing at Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management
Well, Professor Haws isn't saying that we can't learn, but that our inability to look back with accuracy keeps us from making the right corrections we might need to make. Her research shows that we are better off looking at the hear and now and where we want to go rather than try to evaluate our past to move forward.
We should learn from our mistakes, but be able to free ourselves from the negative impact it can have on our future by accurately recalling the truth from those past mistakes, and giving the right priority to our future planning:
Capture what did and did not happen when we make a mistake.
Capture the truth and take it with you as you move forward.
Look forward with effective goal setting to keep from looking back.
Spend a few minutes with: How Past Mistakes Can Benefit Our Future