Chapter 54: Oops, I Did It Again: How To Stop Making the Same Mistake Again and Again?

Growing up, I thought Adulthood would be a lot easier than it turned out to be. Now, I am not saying there aren’t some moments where I have peace and happiness, but Adulthood is an everyday task. 

And, I’ve come to realize that most tasks we complete regularly. For example, if we live independently, rent is due at the beginning of the month. Or, if we have a credit card, the bill is due the same day every month. 

But, for some reason keeping up with all of the tasks associated with Adulthood is quite complicated because Life be Life’n. 

You will have all the $ and a new bill pops up for some reason. Or, you forgot you were going out to eat with your home girl! Or, you forgot that you promised to help pay for a bill your friend needed help with two weeks ago. 

Life be Life’n! 

            But, even when Life be Life’n, sometimes we make mistakes. And these mistakes lead to consequences we may never have expected. 

            For instance, if you don’t pay your credit card bill, you get hit with a late fee damaging your credit history. 

            Or, if you forgot to pay your Klarna bill on time, you can’t use Klarna to purchase a new thing for a while because of your one late payment.  

            But, some mistakes we make are common ones. These mistakes happen repeatedly, and sometimes we don’t even realize we are making them in Life. 

            For example, we don’t save when our paycheck comes. Or, we say yes to every outing when we don’t have to attend everything.

            Sometimes we don’t even work on building the credit we need and instead pay for everything in cash. And, when we are ready to move out, it’s hard to do so because we don’t have a credit history. 

            But, two of the biggest mistakes we will continuously make are not asking for help and not taking risks. And these can leave us stuck in the same space for far too long when we should be in another stage of Life. 

            So, ladies, how do we stop making the same mistakes again and again? 

1.          Get Support! Get an Accountability Partner!

Ladies, there is nothing wrong with having someone in your corner that helps you live in a way conducive to your elevation. 

This person doesn’t have to be a financial guru, but they can be someone that holds you accountable when you’re making decisions that are not helpful to your growth. 

All this person has to do is show up, send you reminders in whatever way you choose, and support you on this journey to not having an oops, I did it again moment. 

2.         Develop Prevention Strategies to Stop Making the Same Mistake:

For example, to stop something, we must try our hardest to prevent it. 

Therefore, if we are trying to get better with our bills, we must put things on our calendar with reminders. 

It takes less than 5 minutes to add your bills to a calendar, and there are even apps that will do it for you! 

Find a few things you can do to make the process easier and help you stop doing something you know isn’t beneficial. 

Using prevention steps also helps you protect yourself from the “oh shoot” moment when you forget you have something to do. 

3.         Set Some Goals, Sis! 

Set goals around building credit, taking risks, and not saying yes to everything. 

And, when you’ve reached the goal, offer yourself some rewards. But make sure you show yourself some grace along the journey as well. 

For example, if you want to start building credit, make small purchases you know you can pay back. 

Don’t buy a designer bag, but maybe a tiny shopping bag from Zara. Make sure you have the $ in your account before purchasing, and then save that $ to pay it on the credit card bill’s due date. 

And, if you can do that, reward yourself for making a smart choice. 

Listen, the mistake you think is unavoidable is avoidable! And, yes, it takes much work, but it isn’t impossible. 

The common mistakes we make in Adulthood are typical for a reason, but they don’t have to be permanent. 

We get to choose the decisions we will make and the ones we won’t.

And, if you can give others a second chance to get things right, then you should give yourself a second chance to work on the common mistakes in Adulthood we discussed earlier. 

You got this, sis! I will always be here to encourage you, so if you need more Support on not having the oops moment, please let me know!

I will be here to help support you!

But, it has come to that time for our August Reset. Therefore, I will see you all in September. 

If you need anything from me, please reach out! Although I won’t be posting, I am still available. 

You can send me a DM on our Instagram page or send me an email at Ihateadulthood@gmail.com. 

I will see y’all soon! In the meantime, keep working on your elevation; I’ll be back to check in on your progress.

Peace & Prosperity, as always!

Jadis DeShong-Venay