Living with the Consequences

I received this in an email from James Clear and thought it was an interesting way of looking at things.  I do reckon he is right. 
“I think about decisions in three ways: hats, haircuts, and tattoos.
Most decisions are like hats. Try one and if you don’t like it, put it back and try another. The cost of a mistake is low, so move quickly and try a bunch of hats.
Some decisions are like haircuts. You can fix a bad one, but it won’t be quick and you might feel foolish for a while. That said, don't be scared of a bad haircut. Trying something new is usually a risk worth taking. If it doesn't work out, by this time next year you will have moved on and so will everyone else.
A few decisions are like tattoos. Once you make them, you have to live with them. Some mistakes are irreversible. Maybe you'll move on for a moment, but then you'll glance in the mirror and be reminded of that choice all over again. Even years later, the decision leaves a mark. When you're dealing with an irreversible choice, move slowly and think carefully."
Many decisions are inconsequential.  Like trying on hats.  But haircuts I need to live with until it has grown out.  An inconvenience and something to be avoided, but only short-term pain.
Other decisions though are consequential for a lifetime.  There are a multitude of such decisions.  While I may be forgiven, I am reminded at many turns that I cannot erase the consequences of some actions.  It may be I need to remind myself forcefully I am not now the same as the person who made the mistake.  A new life has begun.
I am not like the guy who looked himself in the mirror of a morning and thought, “That can’t be right.”  Denial does not exclude consequence.  I must admit so often when I hear people apologising for an antisocial or wrong action, I wonder “are they sorry for their action or for being caught.”
When I used to smoke dope we were wary of being caught - a consequence was forfeiture of a passport.  We never did get caught but them was the rules.
Of course a way to avoid such things is not to go there in the first place.  One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was given me almost 50 years ago. “it is not how close to danger you can go, but how far you can keep from it.”
That has sort of been a mantra for me.  Still, for some things it was like “what the heck” while for others it was enough to convince me that it was just not worth it.