I find that many people are a little unsure what learning from the past really means and they often times begin to define their self worth and self acceptance based on their past.

That's not at all what I mean by learning from the past. When you define yourself by past mistakes, short comings and failings you usually end up beating yourself up for the mistakes or misjudgment that you have made.

Never, beat yourself up! You are the most believable person you know. Let me say it again, never, ever beat yourself up because of a perceived or real failing or mistake. I know that's easier said than done.

One major contributor to an individual's confidence level, to do a good job, is intertwined with the experiences and events that have happened in the past. This is where it gets a little tricky.

Two people can go through the same experience yet one is confident and the other is not. Why is this? To put it simply, the difference lies in how you use what has happened in your past.

The people with high confidence levels learn from their experiences in the past rather than dwell on them and allow themselves to become defeated by them. "Failure" is success if you learn from it! In reality, there are no true failures—only outcomes!

"Failure" if you want to call it that, is an opportunity; a golden opportunity! It's an occasion to learn from your error and to figure out what didn't work. If you can evaluate your situation effectively with constructive criticism, you will learn yet another way to "not" repeat the same mistake. A famous person once said that he had tried to invent a product and it failed 149 times. When questioned about his perceived failed attempts, he replied confidently that he had discovered 149 ways not to create his product.

I don't even like to use the term failure because "failure" is a state of mind. There are no failures, just outcomes.

I've heard it said, if you aren't making any mistakes, you're probably not doing anything. I believe this is a very true statement. People who make mistakes are people who are trying to do something.  

The real winners in life DO make mistakes and they learn from them whereas losers usually give up when the going gets tough.

I failed at my first attempt to become a golfer. It looked like such an easy game. Each time I would swing the club and miss the ball, I was humiliated and humbled because I felt I should have been able to master it right away.

I took golf lessons and the instructor showed me step by step what I was doing wrong. I continued to miss the ball and felt like giving up. If you've ever stood at the tee and addressed a golf ball, you know you truly stand alone. There's no teammate or coach to blame for the ball not going to its intended destination.

Even after lessons, I continued to make mistakes on the golf course but I didn't keep making the same mistakes. Over time I got better and it's no secret that Tiger Woods has nothing to worry about, but I didn't let my initial disappointment or fear hold me back from trying to move forward.
 
In your quest for success, no matter what it is, you will make mistakes along the way. If you recognize this from the beginning and look at it as an expected learning curve as it truly is, you will accept that making mistakes are a part of learning and reaching your ultimate goal. Most individual's fear of success stems from their terror of failure.

Don't allow failure or the thought of making a mistake keep you from the possible rewards you can attain by trying to accomplish your goal. Making mistakes are inevitable, and learning from past mistakes brings you one step closer to your success.