I’ve made mistakes.
I’ve supported and followed
leaders
who ended up
being…well…evil.
I’ve employed tactics
that turned out
to be unethical.
I’ve hurt people.
We have all done this.
Sometimes I would cling to my mistakes,
rationalizing them,
until I could no longer deny them.
Then I felt a flurry of emotions
– shame
and anger
and embarrassment
and guilt.
I wanted to blame other people,
the situation,
anyone or anything other than myself
for my mistake.
But I knew that would be
another mistake.
If I was to ensure
those mistakes
never happened again,
I HAD to blame myself.
I HAD to take a long, hard look
at myself
and figure out
what inside me
made me susceptible
to these leaders or tactics.
Those parts of me
haven’t gone away.
They will likely be with me
forever.
But I’m aware of them now.
I know I have the tendency,
for example,
to support the underdog,
even if that person
deserves to be an underdog,
deserves to be severely criticized.
So now, I do a bit more research.
I listen to people
when they accuse a leader of something.
I investigate their claims.
That has made me a better decision maker
and a better person.
Admit you’ve made mistakes
and learn from them.
You and the world
will benefit from that.