When we make errors we generally experience at least a twinge of anxiety. Sometimes, the anxiety is minor and short-lived. Other times, the anxiety is extreme and it leads to the bad habits of rumination and worry, both of which can be quite debilitating.

Sometimes, when we make errors we repeat them over and over as bad habits. These errors can be considered intentional errors…we know we are doing the wrong thing yet we do it anyhow. Bad habits, including repeated intentional errors, take us away from our long-term goals. We have bad habits and we make these errors because we are human and laziness, short-term gratification

Sometimes, when we make errors we learn lessons that bring about good habits. It seems to me there are two common types of errors that bring about good habits:

• Accidental errors, where the consequences of the errors surprise us in a small, negative way…for example, when we say something that offends a person
• Intentional errors, where the consequences of the errors surprise us in a big, negative way…sometimes the consequences go beyond big/negative to catastrophic, like the straw that breaks the camel’s back

The key points:

• Errors trigger anxiety…we do better than we know this fact of life and have ways of dealing with the anxiety when it arrives [nipping anxiety in the bud, so it does not have a chance to grow]
• Errors, when repeated, can become bad habits
• Errors, when corrected, can lead to good habits
• Sometimes errors are surprises - accidents [i.e., new things]
• Sometimes errors are the result of a short-term gratification out-muscling a long-term goal…i.e., a, failure of willpower – intentional [i.e., bad habits]

Finally –

Strategies for managing error-induced anxiety can lead to happier, more-productive lives.