Surprisingly, it's forgiveness, not guilt, that increases accountability. Researchers have found that taking a self-compassionate point of view on a personal failure makes people more likely to take personal responsibility for the failure than when they take a self-critical point of view. They also are more willing to receive feedback and advice from others, and more likely to learn from the experience.

Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make you a far happier and more productive person.

Forgive yourself and be ready to forgive yourself in the future. You're gonna screw up. It's okay.

Accept yourself. But realize your behaviors can be bad.

You're not a bad person. But you sometimes do bad things. You know what that makes you? Human.

Reaching for the stars, perfectionists may end up clutching at air.

More often than not, the belief that you are bad contributes to the "bad" behavior. Change and learning occur most readily when you (a) recognize that an error has occurred and (b) develop a strategy for correcting the problem. An attitude of self-love and relaxation facilitates this, whereas guilt often interferes.