Quote of the day by Smriti Mandhana: 'If you keep crying and sitting on those mistakes, you’re not improving yourself or getting better...' Indian cricketer shares an important lesson on fastest way to bounce back from failure

Failure can leave people stuck in a loop of regret, especially when the mistake feels impossible to forget. But according to Indian cricketer Smriti Mandhana, the answer is not to keep looking back. The star batter has spoken about why accepting mistakes and making a change is more important than repeatedly thinking about what went wrong. Her advice comes from a mindset shaped by years of competitive cricket, where every match brings another chance to learn, recover and do better.

Smriti Mandhana's quote on mistakes and moving on

Smriti Mandhana appeared as a guest on Raj Shamani's podcast, Figuring Out with Raj Shamani, where she spoke about her mindset, discipline and life away from cricket. Several clips from the conversation have been circulating online, including one in which she spoke about dealing with mistakes and not allowing them to hold a person back.

The full quote from Smriti Mandhana was: "People who have the fight to make that change, then they won't dwell on the past mistakes. If you keep crying and sitting on those mistakes, I feel as what are you getting out of it? You're not improving yourself, you're not getting better. So that's one thing which for me, never dwell on something for a very long period of time."




In a nutshell, Smriti Mandhana's message is a simple idea: a mistake becomes useful only when you learn something from it. Constantly replaying the incident, blaming yourself or wondering what could have been does not change the result. What can make a difference is understanding what went wrong and then deciding what needs to change.

Her words are particularly relevant when failure feels personal. It is easy to spend too much time thinking about a bad decision, a missed opportunity or something that did not go as planned. Mandhana's approach is to acknowledge it, take the lesson from it and then focus on the next step.

The fastest way to bounce back from failure

The star batter advice does not mean that people should ignore their mistakes or pretend that difficult experiences did not happen. Instead, she is talking about knowing when to stop dwelling on them.

For her, the important part is having the “fight” to make a change. If someone knows that something went wrong, they have two choices, remain stuck in regret or use the experience to improve. The second option may be difficult, but it is also the one that can actually lead to progress.

In simple terms, learn from the failure but do not live in it. Thinking about a mistake can help identify what went wrong, but repeatedly punishing yourself over it will not make you better. Improvement comes when that understanding is turned into action.

This mindset is particularly important in sport, where players can have very little time to recover from one disappointing performance. A bad game can be followed by another match within days, sometimes even sooner. The ability to reset mentally can therefore be as important as technical preparation.

Smriti Mandhana's career shows the importance of moving forward

Smriti Mandhana's words come at an interesting point in her own career. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India are set to face Sri Lanka in the Women's Asia Cup 2026 final on Sunday. India have remained unbeaten in the eight-team tournament, while questions have continued around whether Mandhana could eventually take over the captaincy from Harmanpreet.

The tournament has also added another major achievement to Smriti's career. The left-handed batter became the leading run-scorer in women's internationals, surpassing former India captain Mithali Raj.

Smriti Mandhana also created another record during the tournament by becoming the batter with the most centuries in women's cricket, moving past Australia's Meg Lanning. She has already led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to two Women's Premier League titles, but Harmanpreet remains India's captain.



Her ability to keep moving forward has also been tested away from the cricket field. In November last year, Mandhana went through a difficult personal period after her wedding to Indian composer Palash Muchhal was called off. The development became a major topic on social media, bringing intense public attention to a deeply personal matter.

Despite the difficult circumstances, Mandhana returned to training within days and continued preparing for the Sri Lanka tour. She did not step away from cricket and instead stayed focused on her routine and professional commitments.

That determination was followed by another major achievement. On February 5 in Vadodara, Mandhana captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their second Women's Premier League title in four years. RCB defeated Delhi Capitals, led by Mandhana's close friend Jemimah Rodrigues, by six wickets after chasing a record target of 204 runs.

Mandhana played a key role in the chase, scoring a composed half-century and helping RCB remain in control while pursuing the huge target.

Her latest words about failure, therefore, fit closely with the mindset she has repeatedly displayed on the cricket field: understand what happened, make the change and keep moving towards the next challenge.