I fell asleep once driving 60 miles per hour on the freeway. I woke up to the sound of my beloved Infiniti G20 screeching against the wall on the passenger side, having drifted 5 lanes over. God saved me from the natural outcome of my decisions – I was very blessed to be completely unharmed and more importantly to not have hit anyone else. The car was of course totaled.

Driving while exhausted, not pulling over when starting to nod off, was a mistake. A foolish and dangerous one. It wasn’t my worst mistake though. What was worse was going back for seconds. Because I really should have known better. Through luck and grace I never crashed again but I am ashamed to say there were additional times I drove and shouldn’t have, even after having a near death experience.

Most often our worst mistakes aren’t the first time offenses – they are the repeat offenses, when we fail to learn (learning is only truly demonstrated by changing our behavior). The outcomes of the repeat offenses often make the initial offense’s repercussions pale in comparison.

Is there a mistake you’ve made that you felt terrible about and NEVER want to repeat? Honor that warning, commit to never again repeat it. Don’t go back for seconds.

Conversely, on a more positive note, can you think of a time you were blissfully happy, tremendously proud of something you had accomplished or how you had made someone feel? Go back for seconds.