I’m listening to “Just A Geek” on bandcamp as I’m doing homework and I’m wondering: do you ever do that thing where you just tear yourself down inside your head with everything negative that’s ever happened to you and every mistake you’ve made just to make yourself suffer? Like you suddenly become your own worst enemy for the simple sick satisfaction of watching yourself fall. I know I’ve made a terrible habit of it, though I try my damnedest to stop.

wilwheaton:

Yep. A big part of that is my Depression being a jerk, and part of it is just how I’m wired.

The thing is, reflecting on mistakes is a great way to learn from them, and grow as a person. The trick is to recognize when that reflection stops being useful and becomes self-destructive. That’s not always easy, because the part of your consciousness that you use to separate rational from irrational can be stuck in an irrational loop, and it can be a real challenge to break out of it.

Look: we all mess up. We all do things we regret. We all hurt people when we don’t mean to, and we all hurt ourselves (or allow ourselves to be hurt) when we wish we would have protected ourselves. The difference between Good People and Bad People is reflecting on those times, making amends when necessary, and doing our best not to mess up next time.