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Regret is the act of looking backward, rehashing what could have been instead of embracing what is and what could be. The more steps you take while looking back, the fewer steps you take while looking forward to where you could go.
Each time we fail, rather than spend time feeling guilty or bad, we should resolve to instead look forward and make changes from there. This doesn’t mean that you should not learn from the past, but you should never let it anchor you.
What does your future self wish you had done today? “What do the future versions of us, five years from now, wish we had chosen to do today? Rather than looking one or two steps ahead, we should start from the future we want to achieve and then look back to where we are today.
Nothing is a true failure if you use it as a stepping stone to future growth. My failure has been a catalyst for me to teach others to not make the same mistake.
Regret often centers around what we didn’t do. It tends to come as a result of missing some goal or not achieving something we wanted for ourselves. For example, a New Year’s Resolution may be something like “go to the gym every day” but studies show that within three months, 90 percent of gym-goers will drop out.
When we fail at a goal like this, we are often disappointed and demotivated.
What if, rather than focusing on fixed goals, we looked for continuous improvements? If our goal is to write 1,000 words per day, that is great, but once we miss a day, we start feeling like we are falling behind until we eventually give up. On the other hand, if our goal is to write and publish more, without setting a hard and fast number, then it’s easier to make incremental improvements and see gradual progress. If you fail to check off a day, you can more easily catch up the next day. Seeing life as a road toward progress rather than a fixed destination reduces regret.
Living without regrets is freeing : )