I once heard Horia-Roman Patapievici saying something along the lines of: I used to have emotions when doing public speaking. Then I realized that it was a form of pride, and my emotions disappeared.
I remembered his line of thinking but couldn’t understand it well until I reached the same conclusion with the emotions in my life.
Recently, I discovered one more thing related to this: if I think of a mistake in the past and regret it, I’m culpable of being too proud.
What do I expect? To have a perfect life?
Sure, some things in the past are embarrassing, things don’t turn out the way I intended, and I made some small, medium, large, and more than large errors.
But it’s part of life, part of learning. I couldn’t have done it any better, and I wouldn’t be the man I was today had it not been for those errors.
A man who claims they should have made no errors is a proud man (not in a good sense).
It’s best to avoid errors, to not do them on purpose, and to be prepared & alert.
But if errors and mistakes happen, they’re part of the line.
Remembering them makes them vivid in my mind. If this isn’t a helpful behavior, avoid it altogether.
There are some clear advantages of being melancholic. But if, overall, it doesn’t help, avoid this state.
