One bad choice is a moment. Don’t let it sign your name for you.

A single act can feel like a verdict on your character, especially in the hours right after it. What it actually is, is one thing that happened, and its meaning gets decided by what comes next rather than by the act itself. People who define themselves by one night tend to keep proving the definition.

Do the repair that is available, however small, and then get back to ordinary life quickly. Being unremarkable for a while is not avoidance; it is how a single event stays a single event.