Owning One's Mistakes

We are told - from an early age - that one must "own up" to one's mistakes, and take ownership of one's deeds and actions. If one were to, however, pursue Buddhist monkhood, then the 5th factor of the Eightfold Path would extol one to only possess that which is necessary to sustain life. As possession or ownership of one's mistakes does nothing to quench thirst, hunger, or need for shelter, one could argue, cynically, simplistically, and smarmily, that taking ownership of one's mistakes is in direct contradiction to the pursuit of the Eightfold Path and the end of suffering, by way of taking possession of that which one does not need. As such, if one were to lead a life in which one were perpetually in denial over one's mistakes and enjoyed an inability to admit to them, one could perhaps argue that they are, in reality, a profound example of non-possession. Or, if nothing else, the president of the United States.