Regret is one of the strongest negative feelings we can experience as people.
Whether we regret something we did in our past or failing to seize an opportunity, the feeling of disappointment we have in ourselves in moments of regret can be paralyzing.
Imagine waking up when we’re old and feeling like we missed out because we failed to take action in our younger years.
Nobody wants to feel regret but we all often experience it at some point in our lives.
Before we move any futher, let’s talk about the different ways one could end up feeling regret.
One way we can feel regret is by pursuing things that don’t fulfill us in who we are.
Whether it is pursuing the wrong career path or pursuing a relationship with someone we deep down know isn’t a good fit for us, we will often reflect on what we could have done differently to mitigate the feeling of emptiness.
Another way we can feel regret is by not taking enough action towards pursuing the right things.
The right things can oftentimes feel like they aren’t right because we don’t see the immediate results.
We live in a world now that revolves around seeking immediate gratification.
Lacking the ability to delay gratification will naturally cause us to miss out on opportunities for the most growth, which in turn can cause us to regret not taking advantage of our missed opportunities.
The third and final way we can feel regret is by looking back on our past behavior and realizing we could have done more to live a more fulfilling life.
In these moments of self-reflection, we think about all the things we didn’t take enough action on and we try and imagine what our lives would be like if we did.
Feeling regret is a dark hole and one that the average person can’t escape.
One way that I have found to minimize the feeling of regret is by going out and experiencing life.
Without experience, we lack knowledge.
By experiencing life, thinking outside of the box, and reinventing ourselves, we open the door for not only more opportunities to arise, but to learn.
These learning experiences can completely change how we perceive the world in front of us.
If we never learn from missing an opportunity, then we will continue to miss more.
If we never learn from our past behaviors, we will continue to attract many of the same things we always have.
If we never take any risks, then we will never truly open ourselves to an entirely new world of possibilities that exists.