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Is it really possible to live your life and not have any regrets. I’ve heard various people say they regret nothing, but I know for me, I have many regrets.

Rideauxb 7 May 26
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42 comments

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0

When regret is a frame of mind, to me it's a tool of an examined life. I believe some people look back on their mistakes and think "it is what it is" and move on. I'm not one of those people and I think it affords me an opportunity to change my response. Regret can also be thought of as an aversive emotion, I can't imagine not feeling it, it's part of my emotional toolbox. Like other types of pain, it informs you that something in your environment isn't right.

6

I reckon that the only way to get through your life with 'no regrets' is to be a freakin' psychopath or just never to have lived a particularly challenging life.

5

I saw this in a bookstore and knew where I needed to post it.

5

For me, regrets are a complete waste of my time. They take away from the 'now'.
Are there things I look back on and wish I'd done differently? Of course, I'd be a
damnable liar if I said there weren't. However, there is absolutely no point in dwelling
on them. They are in the past and cannot be changed. Learn from them what I need,
and keep moving forward.
To paraphrase another poster, everything I've ever done and been through has gotten
me where I am now. I'm pretty happy with that. Changing anything isn't possible, for one thing, and for another, even if I could, I don't think I would. Not if it would change the present.
I refuse to dwell on things that are over and done. Regrets only get in my way.

5

I regret way too many things.

4

Regrets, I've had a few but then again too few to mention........ Oh wait that was Frank Sinatra, not me.

4

I believe that Regrets are created by errors/ mistakes we make. If we can learn from them we will be able to delete them or if not archive them . In so doing we can make them un - noxious to our life.
It would be good if there was a rewind and delete button...

4

Have regrets but don't dwell on them.

4

If you have no regrets, you've made no mistakes, taken no chances, risked nothing, or thought, "damn the consequences, I'll deal with it when it comes" & done something totally stupid, possibly dangerous, & had the potential to alter your life for good or ill.

I was going to say something like this, but you said it much better.

I would say that's not quite correct. You can make mistakes without having any regrets. If we have learnt something valuable from a mistake, then we may not actually regret making that mistake.

Disagree.
It's how you look at what you've done.

I disagree as well. You only have regrets if you are not happy where you are and who you are today. Everything from your past brought you to this moment. I am happy with both. So no regrets for me ?

4

As much and as often as I consider mistakes I may have made … the culmination of those mistakes has been somewhat impressive.. The fact my effort did not lead to everything I’d hoped doesn't mean it didn’t lead somewhere positive. And as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t regret anything having led to my daughters, who they’ve become ..and where I’m at. Really, no regrets 🙂

Varn Level 8 May 26, 2018

@Crimson67 ...I noticed that.. If our decisions were the best we were capable of making at the time, how & what would or could we change? Had I not married the person who eventually forced the sale of my family homestead ..I’d not have two (magnificent) daughters, or have found my new home in Appalachia… Life’s not easy, or fair.. but if you keep at it, you shouldn’t have any regrets.

4

Regrets, I've had a few...but then again, too few to mention.

I think everyone has regrets, but what are you going to do? You can either worry about those regrets, or accept that an opportunity passed, and be prepared for the next opportunity.

The things I regret not doing, if I had done them, I would have missed out on some great opportunities and experiences.

Ozman Level 7 May 26, 2018

Glad I checked the comments before posting.. you summoned it up nicely with Frank Sinatra

3

Part of getting older and wiser as you grow is there will always be regrets in life things you wish you did to things you didn't, even things you wish you hadn't done. its all part of being human being as we grown and learn.

3

People concentrate on the things they believe they could have done differently and always think that things would turn out better. You don't know that, maybe things would have worked out worse. Also, nobody seems to dwell on the decisions they make which turned out just dandy. Regardless, I try to balance the good vs. the bad, and try really hard not to make the same mistake twice. The past is dead and gone and the future is not certain, so focus on the here and now.

3

I have some regrets. However if I can't fix it I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Learn the lesson and move on.Make peace with the situation in whatever way you can and move forward knowing better and doing better. Anyone who has no regrets has lived so carefully that they have not really lived.

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Only a couple, and nothing l dwell on.

3

I try to learn from each experience, and let the bad feelings go.

Regrets, grudges and bitterness only hurt the grudge-holder.

3

I have experiences that I'm not to proud of, but I have no regrets. The reason:

Everything from my past took me to where i am, and who I am today. I learned allot on my journey so far. Even though I downright hate the crap I had to go through to get here, I'm still glad I'm here.

3

Are you going to share with us your regrets? Or are you just looking for people to expose their?

3

There's some friends I wish I hadn't lost contact with, but otherwise I'm okay

2

I have regrets, but I can't dwell on them. Mainly use them as a catalyst move forward. Can't change the past or control the future, only can put things in motion now.

2

I regret a few things, but the other things I let go.

2

I regret that I don't have any regrets.....so do I or don't I?
(I'll better stick to engineering, philosophy make me dizzy)

2

I'm thinking regret is a manifestation of self loathing.
Just a thought...I could be wrong.

2

Hi
Whoever came up with the word regrets is, or was,
a masochistic sadist.
Of course we all have parts of our past lives that we would like to do over.
It's Impossible.

2

There is an idea my therapist (yes I really said that) called radical acceptance. Because we live in a universe in which time is linear no matter how many times you replay a mistake in your head it is physically impossible to go hack and change the causal chain and fix it. So regret, no matter the reason, serves no one, least of all you. Find a way to accept imperfection and failure as a part of the human condition rather than a judgment on you personally. Learn to allow yourself to fuck up. And finally, in the immortal words of my grandfather,
"A turd stays a turd no matter how long you stare at it. Change what you're looking at and you'll change what you see. "

2

Everything is not perfect in my life, thus some regrets. Learn from them and move on. Don't dwell on what might have been.

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