I thought that this might happen…

Why didn’t you plan for this variable?…

I told you so…

These are common phrases used retrospectively after an unexpected event occurred or something went sideways despite planning.

This is easy to say. After all, hindsight is 20-20.

But what do we achieve by it?

Nothing except self-absolution from responsibility and blaming ourselves or another person for things that we often have no sway over. This is just retrospective talk, not retroactive.

What’s more useful is forgiving ourselves. Accepting that some things are out of our control. Embracing the opportunity to gain new knowledge. If we keep sight of the end goal and continue adapting to the circumstances, we can still emerge better for the situation.

Blaming for mistakes based on hindsight bias will keep us from learning from them.

Forgive first-time errors so we can avoid second-time repeats.