It’s impossible to make it though a career without making some mistakes. The road to success is often paved with a lot of failures. But what happens when you mess up big-time and your colleagues won’t let you live it down?

Psychologist Art Markman helps this reader figure out how he can get past his past mistakes.

Hi, I made what was probably the biggest mistake of my career a year ago. Without getting into all the gory details, it cost the company thousands of dollars and ruined our relationship with a client. I apologized and have worked really hard since then, going above and beyond. I feel like it’s going to haunt me forever, though. Some of my colleagues continue to bring it up, which feels embarrassing and belittling. I also haven’t asked for a raise because I feel like no matter what I do, I’m marked now. How can I make everyone forget about it, or is it hopeless as long as I’m at this job?

I have never met anyone who didn’t make a mistake. And some of those mistakes have been costly.

The first thing to note is that you’re still working for your company. If the management thought that your mistake was the result of intolerable negligence, then you would not be working there anymore.

Second, it has clearly been a while since your mistake, because you point out that you have punished yourself by not asking for a raise. So, your bosses are clearly happy enough with your performance to keep you on.

Art Markman is a professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas at Austin. His latest book, Smart Change, focuses on how you can use the science of motivation to change your behavior at work and home. Follow @abmarkman.

From these two points, I would say you have been forgiven by everyone else. Now, it is your turn to forgive yourself. You made a mistake. A bad one. Hopefully, you learned from it. You will not do yourself or the company any good to dwell on the past mistake, beyond the lessons you can learn from it.

The next piece of this puzzle is that your colleagues continue to razz you about the mistake. That is a (perhaps unfortunate) part of human nature. We often remember noteworthy events about other people, and may even continue to mention those events long after they are over. In a lot of ways, this is just the adult version of the teasing that goes on in every elementary schoolyard.