5 reasons you shouldn’t live with regrets

SpunOutter Rachel makes the case for living without regrets

Written by Rachel Morris

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We all know living with regrets is pointless yet we all do it to every single day. I want to share a few of the reasons why I think we should stop doing that.

1. It poisons your outlook on the future

While we are all sitting around feeling stupid for doing the things we have done, all that does is reinforce the thought that it will always be the way things plan out in the future. Our brains can be programmed literally by our thoughts, and if we keep thinking that bad things will happen in the future we are only setting ourselves up for failure. The trick is not to keep holding onto our mistakes, because throughout our lives there are going to have to be some failures. Because, in my opinion, all we are doing is practising. If you don’t understand me when I say that then I would advise you to take a closer look at what you want to get out of life. You often have to be wrong in order to get to the right place. Notice more of the things you should be learning from. If we continually expect to be disappointed by it, life will always be generous enough to prove that to us. We are all imperfect, and we all make mistakes, so that we will learn from them.

2. Stunts your personal growth

If you continue to hold that red hot piece of hate in your heart, you will never realize that it is actually giving you an opportunity to look at yourself and the choices you make. It opens the door for you to choose a different path in life. It is up to you what you choose to do with your decisions. From each failure there is something to be learned, and life will continue to try and teach you, and those situations will keep happening until you make a personal change within yourself. Wouldn’t it be so nice for you to suddenly discover you actually made the right decision on this one?? You are the creator of your own destiny. Remember that.

3. Changes your opinion of yourself

Another reason why you should not take your past decisions to heart is because it allows you to think less of yourself. We all punish ourselves with mental torture after something bad happens. Things like “Why am I so stupid?” And “I am such an idiot” are not helpful. In order to take the best from any situation you must relieve yourself of your mental slagging. Be kind to yourself and realize that this setback could be the path to your true destiny. You never know where you’ll be in ten years. Don’t hold yourself back with being hard on yourself. At one point it was exactly what you wanted. You know the way we always do what we want to do, as humans? We usually put some thought into our actions and words, don’t we? Then don’t judge yourself harshly for weighing up the options, shooting for the stars and then missing. It happens to the best of us. You’re not a child, being told what to do with your life. You’re a fully comprehensive, functioning human being. And you know what’s best for you, even if it sometimes comes back to bite you!

4. It doesn’t change the past

No matter how much you think about it, all the things you should have, could have, or would have done. It won’t change what happened. But it can stop it from happening again, if you play your cards right. Move on. It’s not worth it.

5. It hurts you

The only person you are weighing down with all that pain is yourself. It holds you back from the life you want to make, the dreams you want to make a reality will keep getting further and further away. It’s like holding a hot piece of coal in your hands and hoping it will burn someone else. There’s no reason for that pain to keep hurting you. Stop reliving it. Do things that make you happy, and help you to grow as a person. Make yourself as useful as you can. You are so worth it. You can let go of this and let the experience of it sculpt you into the kind of person you always wanted to be.

So I hope I’ve given you a bit of food for thought. I hope I’ve made you see a bit clearer why you can make your life better without regrets.

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