First of all, there are two forms of regret: the intelligent one (in which you realize the shit you’ve done to yourself) and the dumb one (in which you’re producing guilt). We’re talking here about the second one. The first one is way more complex than just a blog post.

Regretting something – in the form of creating and maintaining guilt – is another form of not accepting reality. What can you do about it now? It’s gone. It doesn’t exist anymore. Holding back to your past actions, keeping those strings attached, will make you move slower and slower, until you’ll stop for good.

In their guilt-creating form, regrets are killing you from the inside. Literally. Guilt is a disease that consumes your self-esteem to the point you’re unable to function anymore. It’s a cancer. It grows in your head first, and then it spreads in the muscles, in the bones, on the skin. Feeling guilt is saying to yourself you’re not good enough. You screwed things up and the world will crucify you forever. You’ll have to pay for that for as long as you’ll live. And from the moment you succumb to these thoughts, it all starts to spiral down and you’re doing all sort of “reparations”, trying to please everybody, to dissolve your personality to the point of no return.

I’m not saying you should be a dick and not regret your stupid stuff. But the difference between intelligent regret and guilt is enormous.

Intelligent regret identifies a flaw in your past behavior, accept it, integrates it and then ends with the resolution to avoid that stuff from now on. Whereas guilt is in fact rejecting the result, it doesn’t integrate it at all and keeps you in the same space of your stupid stuff for ever, pushing you to punish yourself over and over and over again.

Those penitences are trying to make you believe that you’ll recreate the past somehow.

Well, you won’t. Because you can’t. You did what you did and that’s that. You can’t go back anymore so accept it and move forward. All you have now is your life and the current second.

This is all that you can change: your present moment. Not yesterday, not tomorrow. Now. Live now.

15 responses to “Live With No Regrets”

  1. These are important and wise words. We all make mistakes. For most of us they are not intended to harm others or ourselves. I think understanding, gaining insight , and moving forward with intention to not re-make the same mistake is important. And, sorting out guilt and shame is so essential in moving forward. Nicely written and thought provoking.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Often, regret happens when we’re “not where we want to be” in life or when we don’t achieve certain things. One way to live a life without any regrets is to simply hone in on the things you want to achieve, and it’s even better when you can see it everyday.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Lovely insight and guidance. I truly agree 💗

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Absolutely truly. I always believe that when we do something deep down it’s because we ultimately wanted to, sometimes that decision may see like it’s not the right one but their is always a reason u have made it you gut that feeling within that says do it or don’t. So even if you regret it after it’s done rest assured that decision u made was the right one for you. Lovely post got me thinking, thank you for sharing 🌼

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Often these are the points people consider when they say they want to live “with no regrets”. The common theme is family, personal aspirations, gratitude and kindness. These are all important, but you must learn how to differentiate these from mistakes and incidents that make you a better person.

      A life without regrets is one without direction and self-awareness. The decisions we make in life allow us to be who we are, and mistakes guide us to be better people. In the end, we can aspire to be like the terminal patients in many hospices: recognizing their regrets in life, but also realizing they lived a life with purpose.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Absolutely I choose to call it’s lessons when I look back at my life and the choices I have made even though at the time they created lots of doubt was it the right decision but years later looking back I am happy for each of those hard lessons for they have made me who I am today and brought me to the place I am right now. And for me right now this is my heaven on earth🌼🌼🌼🤗 thank you for you lovely comment ❤️

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    1. Thank you for sharing

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Always a joy and pleasure to read and share your posts with followers, My Dear! Hope you have a great day!! xoxox 😘💕🎁🌹

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Manasa Kulkarni

    Regret = Inspires Action — Because we don’t like feeling regret, and because we feel the most regret about things we can fix, regret is actually a motivator for action.

    Nicely quoted the article 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Manasa.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Basically, own your stuff. This one is a hard one for most.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Often, regret happens when we’re “not where we want to be” in life or when we don’t achieve certain things. One way to live a life without any regrets is to simply hone in on the things you want to achieve, and it’s even better when you can see it everyday.

      Liked by 1 person

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