About regret

January 5, 2016

regret

You’ve had missed opportunities in your life, right? We all have: the job we wish we would have taken, the relationship we should have tried harder with, the words we’re sorry we said.

Maybe, like me, you’ve regretted some of those things.

But here’s what my own experience has taught me:

Regret is a huge waste of time.

We’re here to learn from our experiences, and in fact, experiences are presented to us for just that reason.  They’re part of our soul’s plan and ultimately, its growth.

We may cringe at some of the things we’ve said or done, we may look wistfully and things we didn’t say or do, but in the end?  All we’ve got is RIGHT NOW.

Spending time thinking back and wishing? A waste of time.

Better to take the lesson and move on, because there’s always a next time. Maybe not for that particular situation, but a next time that you’ll know how to handle it.

So about regret? Don’t get stuck there.

Use it.  Let it propel you to the next successful thing.

 

18 comments on “About regret
  1. Brenda P says:

    Amen, Carol. It’s fine to think back and reminisce but don’t waste your time on regrets. Embrace it and move on.

  2. NainaParis says:

    “Remorse is the poison of life, reformation may be its cure.” – Mr.Rochester [Jane Eyre]

  3. Mary says:

    I need to take your words to heart. I’ve had a few regrets, big ones that I am trying to move on from. You always put things in prospective for me. It really is time to let go.

  4. Such a great reminder to take from our experiences what we can to inform what comes next. We really can’t change the past, so why waste time stewing about what might have been? As you say, all we’ve got is right now.

  5. Agree. Regret serves no purpose. You need to learn a lesson and move on!

  6. andrea says:

    trying not to have any regrets this year. Besides which, regret begets sadness, which begets illness…

  7. Sheryl says:

    A great reminder, Carol. Regret is okay, as a message of what we did that was wrong, but if we stay stuck in it and fail to learn from it, that’s where it becomes counter-productive.

  8. Hi Carol! Happy New Year! I so agree that regret is a complete waste of time. I’ve read that we by far regret more the things we didn’t do than the things we did so I’m happily committed to doing what my heart leads me to do in the year to come! ~Kathy

  9. I hate the meaning behind ‘Regret’ and I totally agree. Regret just holds you back. Taking a life lesson to heart is a MUCH better way to move forward.

  10. MyTeenGuide says:

    Yes, I have regretted a lot of times, but then I always take it as a lesson learned. I’d like to work on this more this year.

  11. Agreed. The only thing you should ever regret is wasting time regretting what is done and gone. Always enjoy your posts, Carol.

  12. Carolann says:

    I agree. That’s one of the reasons I love the book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. If it taught me one great lesson that was to live in the now. No regrets, just now, just this moment.

  13. Elizabeth O. says:

    This makes perfect sense. Although there will always be things that you will regret, later in life you’ll realize that you’ve learned from those as well. Thanks for the reminder.

  14. Happy new year and what A great reminder. I agree that regret is only waste of time!

  15. Lisa Rios says:

    I agree with you very much on it, there is no reason in wasting time thinking over what has happened. Instead it is always better to motivate yourself & move on to reach the goal.

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