Inevitable Regrets

No one lives a perfect life. No one lives a life where they have no regrets. With every choice made, there will always be an alternative. Sometimes the choice is a no-brainer, you make the choice and have no regrets. You know you made the right choice. Other times, the decision isn’t as easy. You stay up at night tossing and turning wondering which decision you should make. Then after you make it you continue to wonder if you ended up making the right choice. Life is hard because we can’t change the past and cannot predict the future. We can only live in the now and the now we live in is dictated by the choices we make. With every choice, there’s potential for regret. Regrets are inevitable if we are living our lives. Undoubtedly some regrets will be harder pills to swallow than others.

Since regrets are inevitable in life, the key to living with them is choosing the regrets you can tolerate. If you are looking to lose weight is the choice to opt for a veggie bowl instead of the fried food one you can live with? If you are trying to read 12 books in a year is the choice to spend time combing through pages instead of lounging on the couch watching a show one you can live with? These are simple examples with simple answers. If you want to continue actively practicing the habit of being a healthy person, eating the fried food may fill you with regret. If you want to continue actively practicing the habit of reading, binging a television show may fill you with regret. For every choice, there is a decision made that can cause some sort of regret. Make the choices that leave you with the least amount of regret.

Life is not filled with easy choices. Some choices lead to far more potential for regret than simply choosing what you want to eat. Accept the fact that some choices lead to inescapable regrets. With this acceptance in mind, your focus can then shift to minimizing the impact of these choices and their subsequent regrets. You know going through a divorce will alter your family, but your happiness matters too. Would you regret staying or leaving more? Regret will come either way. Follow your path to becoming a lawyer or drop out and focus on starting the business you’ve always wanted to. Either option poses the threat of regret.

Don’t let the fear of regret prevent you from living your life. Don’t let regret overcome you. The decisions you have made in your life have brought you to where you are today. You can’t change what’s done, you can only prepare for what’s yet to come.