“My one regret in life is that I am not someone else.”

– Woody Allen

Over the holiday season I noticed a lot of “year in review” television programming. The beginning of a new year is a time when many of us do a personal year in review. More than likely you’ll end up facing some things you regret. If you want to improve in 2013, it’s important to identify your weaknesses, so here are a few thoughts that might help.

• Figure out if mistakes are “one-offs” or a cycle of bad decision-making. If you are on a bad path that is going to ultimately take you to a bad place, then see it for what it is and adjust. Identify what you are doing and where it is taking you. Then decide if that is where you want to end up.
• Did you cause anyone harm or pain as a result of some mistake in 2012? If so, circle back and make it right with the people that ended up as collateral damage. They may still be upset and never forgive you, which you can’t control. All we can do is manage our own actions. Make sure you are taking the necessary steps to fix things if you can. Man up. Or, woman up.
• Let it go. If you are like me, it might be hard for you to leave your mistakes behind. I have read that 80 percent of self talk is negative. You can’t afford that much internal bad-mouthing. Grace is a fantastic thing so give it freely to others and know that it is given to you in the same way. If you don’t move past mistakes then you’ll never reach your potential in 2013. Develop a short memory and be GREAT this coming year. We are all human and will without a doubt mess things up. Get over it and move on.

Take some time to look at the last 12 months and then leave it where it belongs. I know that we all have a lot to look forward to this year, so let’s get busy making it happen.