Mistakes trigger shame; therefore, they must be avoided. Since no one is perfect, mistakes are unavoidable, so the second-best thing he can do is avoid the memory of the mistakes, or try to “cook the books” and construe the mistake as something other than an error. The tragedy contained in this vicious cycle is that mistakes help a person change their behavior. When mistakes are swept under the carpet of life, then no change takes place and the same dysfunctional behaviors keep happening.
