Hey Art, I always appreciate how honest you are in your articles. It's inspiring!

I wanted to offer an opinion on your outlook regarding the lessons learned portion of your piece here.

You said that lessons aren't learned by repeating mistakes, but by successes in the face of similar circumstances. And that baby steps count, no matter how small.

While I agree, I think that your reflection on what happened counts as a baby step. I know you didn't succeed in the way you wish you would have, but you aren't blindly making the same mistakes. You are aware of your mistake, even if it's seen later, and that's a step in the right direction that deserves to be recognized.

For those blindly making the same mistakes over and over... well that's a true state of no progress.

But to have the ability to sit back and reevaluate your behavior, and to share it so openly as you have... man, give yourself some credit. Most aren't even aware they did anything wrong or hurtful in the first place.

With all that, I'd argue that lessons are learned through the continual unbiased observation of our own behaviors, either in the heat of the moment or through a moment of reflection. And if we see we are making a mistake, or have already made a mistake, then we fix it on the spot, or try better next time. Moments like these are still steps, though small, that absolutely matter.

Anyway man, I didn't want to come off preachy, though I may have anyway haha But I appreciate you sharing and being so authentic about it!