5 Practical thoughts to win over your Regrets in Life

This discussion explores the magnitude of regrets in life, guilt and ways to overcome them. Regrets need not bring you down, they can motivate you to achieve better things and make amends. Join our discussion with your thoughts below, we would love to hear from you.

Regrets in Life

No one can lead a perfect life! There are things we would like to make things better. A perfect life is a great desire, but also is one where you can appreciate the imperfections.

As you try to deal with different regrets in life, it is very important that you think of them in the right light. Here are 8 steps to find out how regrets in life can aid you to lead a better life.

1. Acknowledge the error

A regret stems from something that went wrong. Your first step is to accept what went wrong.

• Denial might be a natural response to make you feel better.
• But your regret is because you have slipped down from your own standards

So, instead of trying to nurse your ego, be a bit objective and acknowledge your part. There is no shame in accepting that you are wrong. This mistake was made at a time with a certain knowledge you had.

It may be wrong today, but you are not the same person who made that mistake. You are on a path to make a change.

2. Listen to what it is saying

Regrets in life are painful. It is easy to let them sink you down and hold you back.

• Move away from this mistake and look at it from an external point of view.
• What is the regret really trying to tell you?

We are our own worst critics. As Mark Twain states: “I have lived through some terrible things in my life – many of which didn’t happen!“. Your regrets in life have a tendency to build up and grow strong if you keep boosting them.

A problem is a signal which is trying to tell you something. Your regrets in life are indicators of something that didn’t go well. Try to identify what these things are.

3. What went wrong?

Before you jump into taking all the blame on yourself, remember that you took some actions based on knowledge at that point in time. It may have been right or wrong.

• Who did it impact?
• What can I do to make it better?

There is no point in trying to feel bad about a regret and wallowing in self pity. We all can do the self pity very well. This is not going to help you achieve anything. If you want results, you need to start thinking of solutions.

4. Can you rectify it?

Your knee jerk response to this will be NO. A mistake compounds with time. Regrets in life also compound with time.

Instead of playing what went wrong in your mind over and over again, try to think of ways you can set things right

• There is always something you can do
• You might not be able to make the problem go away completely, but you can mitigate it.

Be curious about the regrets in life, try to identify ways to make things better. Some say that there is no point in thinking about things where you can’t do anything.

But you can always do something!

5. What can you learn from it?

Your regrets in life are present for a reason. They are trying to teach you a lesson. What can you learn from it?

• You have grown to accept a mistake and willing to rectify it
• You might have to change your approach in the future

Every incident provides us the gift of insight. You can look back at it and prefer to feel sorry. Or you can be curious to learn from it.

Remember, you make decisions at every point in life. Worrying about a regret is a decision, so is wanting to do something about it.

Points to remember

• Your worries and regrets in life are mere emotions. They are a message!
• Jumping into self pity is very easy. But you are better than that, your response is about being a master of your emotions and not a slave
• Your decisions matter, worry or regret is a decision. Rectification is also a decision.
• You can either whine in self pity or get into solutions. It depends on the choices you make.
• You can always do something!

These are our top thoughts on dealing with regrets in life. Please share your thoughts with us below, we would love to know your journey and tips to deal with regrets.