Never Pay Twice for the Same Mistakes

I have made many references to mistakes and failures. Today, I am thinking about it again in a wider context of events that have taken place.

We hear cliches like "That was a bad mistake", "that mistake will cost you", or "you are going to live to regret your folly." Granted. Humans make mistakes. We are flawed and full of imperfections. We do things sometimes without (and even with rational) thinking, and end up rueing and upset. I, for one, sometimes go around mumbling under my breath admonishing myself for my foolishness, stupidity and apparent lack of logic.

Why do we sometimes make the same mistakes over and over again?
Is there something inherent in our character that we are not able to shake off and overcome; or is it true that somethings can never change? Why does it appear as if we are not learning from our errors of jugement? Or is our sense of self-awareness so narrow that we are always ready to come up with easy excuses, or shift the blame on others for the things we do wrong.

Do we ever learn from our mistakes?
Or do we choose what we want to remember, and ignore those that we think happen because they are no fault of ours?

"Forget the mistakes...but always remember the lessons they taught you."