This is a YouTube video titled "#364: Three Common Mistakes (and Powerful Solutions) for Overcoming Regret" featuring Ed Gandia as the host of the High Income Business Writing Podcast. The episode, recorded in early 2025, presents Ed sharing insights and advice on how to productively handle regret by avoiding common mental mistakes. The content is a solo podcast episode with Ed Gandia delivering motivational and practical guidance to business writers and freelancers.
Welcome to the High Income Business Writing Podcast, helping you propel your writing business to a whole new level. And now, here's your host, Ed Gandia.
Hey there. Welcome to another episode of the High Income Business Writing Podcast, the number one podcast for business writers and copywriters who want to earn more and less time doing work they love for better clients. With over 1 million downloads from listeners just like you across 101 countries, this episode is much shorter than usual. Rather than my typical 45 minute format. Today I'm sharing a quick tip with you. This is part of the Audio insights I publish for my private coaching clients every weekday and I thought you'd find it helpful. So here we go. Hope you enjoy it.
We've all been there. We've made a mistake. And for days, weeks, sometimes even months, we get caught up in a mental loop of what ifs and if only. Regret can feel overwhelming. But the real problem is not just a mistake, it's how we respond to the mistake. So here are three mistakes that most of us make when trying to deal with regret and how we can deal with the issue more productively. Mistake number one is mistaking where you are for who you are when things go wrong. It's easy to assume I'm a failure instead of I made a mistake. This mindset makes us feel stuck and unworthy, preventing us from taking new risks or pursuing growth. I love the powerful words of author Mike Dooley in his book Infinite Possibilities. And I quote, where you are is not who you are, unquote. How many times do we confuse our current situation with our identity and our self worth? It's a common mistake, but it's a dangerous one. The solution here is to reframe your narrative. Remind yourself that you are not your mistakes. You are evolving and this moment does not define you. Your current circumstances are temporary, but your potential for growth and change is constant. Mistake number two is defining ourselves by our past actions rather than learning from those actions. We tend to see our mistakes as proof of our limitations rather than opportunities to grow. We replay past errors in our minds, creating a narrative that we are doomed to repeat them, these mistakes over and over again. And this traps us in a cycle of self doubt where every mistake reinforces a false sense of inadequacy. I once heard Andy Stanley, founder of North Point Ministries, say something beautiful that reminds me of this idea. He said, your past should remind you, but it should not have to define you. We shouldn't ignore our mistakes and regrets. They won't disappear, but we should leverage them for Growth and learning. One way to do this is to ask yourselves, what can I learn from this? Look, you've made the mistakes. Now get some value from them and ensure you don't repeat them. Mistake number three is believing you have no control over your future because of your past. And you know, look, this is extremely common. You're human. You're bound to do this. You're bound to feel helpless. And we feel sometimes that our past mistakes have set our future in stone. We assume that since things went wrong once, there's no point in trying again. This mindset causes us to give up before we even start surrendering to fear and helplessness. But here's the truth. Your past should guide you, not define you. The present is your chance to create a new future. Starting now. It's important to recognize that every moment really is a fresh start. Use your past and present to create a better future for yourself. The future is not here yet, but you can certainly use that vision to guide your decisions and actions this very moment, right now in the present, which is the only thing you truly own and control. So, look, mistakes happen to everyone, but it's how we respond to them that matters. Don't let where you are become who you are. Don't let your past become your identity. And never believe that your future is out of your hands.
Well, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed the episode. And just a quick reminder to grab your free copy of my latest book, Earn More in Less Time. The Proven Mindset, Strategies and Actions to Prosper as a Freelance writer. You can get your free copy@b2b launcher.com or you will also find the detailed show notes to this and all my other episodes. Enjoy and have a great day.
