It’s how you respond to the mistake you just made that defines you.

Will you let your emotions get the best of you? Will you let yourself get paralyzed? Will you keep digging yourself into a deeper hole? Will you react with defensiveness when somebody gives you painful feedback?

Or will you regulate your emotions? Will you admit the mistake to yourself and stop digging? Will you lower your shields and ask for help? Will you take responsibility for your mistake and come up with next steps or a plan to make things right?

Everybody knows the right answer to these questions. The challenge is calling them to mind, and answering them responsibly, when the mistake is fresh and disorienting.