Midlife Mastery Journal

In this last installment of five articles focusing on reconciliation and forgiveness, Les discusses the role that asking for forgiveness plays in completing the process that turns a failure (no matter how grave) into a successful growth experience, leading to a deep sense of strength and peace on an intellectual, emotional and (most importantly) a spiritual plane.

The fourth article in this series of “Cleaning Up Your Wreckage” takes on the deepest levels of pain that we experience from messing up. It’s a pain beyond the embarrassment, guilt and even shame of experiencing our fallibility. It comes from recognizing that, from now on, we have to see and to do things differently.

In our journey to examine how to clean up the wreckage left behind by the poor choices we have made in life, we come to a turning point. We’ve acknowledged that we’ve done wrong and we’ve expressed our sorrow for it. Now comes the hard part: what are you going to do about it?In our journey to examine how to clean up the wreckage left behind by the poor choices we have made in life, we come to a turning point. We’ve acknowledged that we’ve done wrong and we’ve expressed our sorrow for it. Now comes the hard part: what are you going to do about it?

Every once in a while, we recognize that what we’ve chosen to say or do hasn’t worked out the way we wanted it to. We made a bad choice and the results are there, staring us in the face. Almost before we know it, out pops an “I’m sorry!” What does an apology mean? What SHOULD our apologies mean? Why are there so many of them, and why do they so often seem so insincere?

Everybody makes a mess from time to time. It’s the price we pay for growth and progress. If we’re wise, we learn from our mistakes; if not, we can wind up paying for them over and over again. In this first of five articles, Les Brown looks at how guilt can become a positive experience.