Aaron Carter Says 'Live and Learn' After Violent Breakup

Aaron Carter's having fun living the single life, but he's also taking time to reflect after what he claims was a nasty and physical breakup ... and admits it's time to make some changes.

We got Aaron out at Dream Motor Cars in L.A. where he was shopping for a Lambo. Call it the ultimate retail therapy, because just a few days earlier he got a restraining order against his ex, Lina Valentina.

As we first reported ... Aaron claims she threatened to stab him. She's also a suspect in a domestic violence dispute after allegedly slapping him prior to their split.

Aaron's putting all that drama behind him, and says he's trying to grow from it. The singer's 31 now and views this as a crossroads in his life -- and opened up to us about making "the right decisions" from here on out.

As we first reported ... his most recent drama started when a family member called cops to perform a welfare check at Aaron's Lancaster, CA crib because they feared he would hurt himself and others.

Sources close to Aaron told us he was fine, but thought his pissed-off ex might have called cops out of spite. Regardless, Aaron tells us he just wants to move on.