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The Hardest Thing to Accept: Inevitability of Mistakes

As a hardworking student that constantly strives for As, a weakness that comes with this trait is low self-esteem by not accepting the fact that I will keep making mistakes. These mistakes range from doing labs incorrectly to writing mediocre essays on tests. Despite using my reflection process (study like Darwin) after a test, lab, or assignment, I still make similar mistakes such as calculation mistakes or forgetting to do something. This repeated cycle of criticizing myself for not meeting my expectations has only made it harder for me because I feel obliged to always improve instead of falling down and then getting back up. Looking back on my previous failures, I realized that the best way to deal with them is to not make it very personal. One of the most important skills I developed from failure was seeing it as a temporary situation instead of an apocalyptic one. In other words, I wouldn't let my current situation determine my future. Instead, I would treat it like a postmortem and examine why I made mistakes and how I could do better. I accepted that making mistakes was natural and failure was a learning opportunity for me. I used my failure to motivate me to do better. It would make me become more aware and informed about how to tackle a future challenge that I would encounter. In fact, it was a good reminder that I was being challenged. Although every student dreams of having excellent grades, it may not be a good sign to have only A+s because having perfect grades may indicate you aren't learning much from the class. 
The internal conflict hasn't been resolved because I still struggle with understanding the difference between confidence and arrogance. However, what I can attempt to do is not to make generalized statements about my character based on my mistakes. Usually, I exaggerate how irresponsible, careless, and immature I am because I forgot to do my history homework or didn't put the negative signs on a physics lab. This may sound silly, but I think that my teachers are disappointed in me if I don't do well on a test or assignment. Instead of letting my past define me, I can seize the moment by trying to improve in the future. Another way to prevent me from entering a downward spiral by beating myself up for the smallest mistakes is to redefine what improvement should look like. I know I shouldn't have this mindset, but I see improvement as a straight line that keeps going up over time. Perhaps I should visualize improvement as a graph that has both high and low peaks, but  have a positive correlation over a longer stretch of time. Most importantly, I have to let go of my unwillingness to accept the fact that I will still make mistakes. Even if I make the same mistakes, as long as I am more aware and gradually make less of those mistakes, I should feel better for myself. 
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