Living In The Prison That Is Regret | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

Living In The Prison That Is Regret

Learn to break free.

25
Living In The Prison That Is Regret
Nora Sullivan

Have you ever regretted a decision so much that you think about it all the time and imagine all the different ways the situation could have turned out, if you didn’t mess it up so badly? I have, more times then I care to admit. I regret decision I’ve made in almost every aspect of my life. I regret things I’ve said, times I didn’t say anything. But a big regret of mine is letting myself be scared into not doing something, into not taking a risk or a chance. Because I’ve come to the conclusion that you regret the things you didn’t do more often then you regret the things you did.

If you let it, regret has the power to destroy you life. It starts slowly eating away at everything you do, then it over time it builds until you’re left feeling helpless, hopeless and stuck living in the past. You’re left thinking back to every little moment wondering if that’s where it all went wrong. I know this because it has happened to me. I’ve regretted a decision so much that for weeks and week I would replay every interaction; go over everything to figure out what went wrong. Then I would create situations where I didn’t send a certain text to see how it would play out differently. Leaving me with just one wish: to create a time machine and go back and change whatever bad decision I made. This vicious cycle caused me to bury myself further into regret. It was only when the regret started to affect future decisions that I realized how toxic it truly is.

I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, the good and the bad. And because of this, I have to accept that things happen in order for me to grow as a person, for me to become who I am supposed to be. The situations that ended badly weren’t supposed to work out and the friendships that I lost, maybe weren’t supposed to work out either. Maybe all of the things that I’ve regretted have helped me to grow in who I was destined to be, become stronger, learn to forgive and learn to demand respect.

Finally, I’m here to tell you to let go of the regret in your head, accept that it happened for a reason and that reason is to help you. Regret doesn’t accomplish, and at the end of the day the decision you made will still have been made, you can’t change a decision in the past. In the grand scheme of things, that decision is probably a tiny blimp on your timeline, something you’ll forget about in a few years. So why replay it in your head? Regret is powerful and dwelling on it, feeds it with more power. Until you start to miss out on the life that’s right in front of you, the life you are supposed to be living. And then you’ll end up regretting that decision as well. Don’t let regret have the power to destroy a life you’re destined to live.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Gilmore Girls
Hypable

In honor of Mother’s Day, I have been thinking of all the things my mom does for my family and me. Although I couldn’t write nearly all of them, here are a few things that moms do for us.

They find that shirt that’s right in front of you, but just you can’t seem to find.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

10 Reasons To Thank Your Best Friend

Take the time to thank that one friend in your life you will never let go of.

4373
Thank You on wooden blocks

1. Thank you for being the one I can always count on to be honest.

A true friend will tell you if the shirt is ugly, or at least ask to borrow it and "accidentally" burn it.

2. Thank you for accepting me for who I am.

A best friend will love you regardless of the stale french fries you left on the floor of your car, or when you had lice in 8th grade and no one wanted to talk to you.

Keep Reading...Show less
sick student
StableDiffusion

Everybody gets sick once in a while, but getting sick while in college is the absolute worst. You're away from home and your mom who can take care of you and all you really want to do is just be in your own bed. You feel like you will have never-ending classwork to catch up on if you miss class, so you end up going sick and then it just takes longer to get better. Being sick in college is really tough and definitely not a fun experience. Here are the 15 stages that everyone ends up going through when they are sick at college.

Keep Reading...Show less
kid
Janko Ferlic
Do as I say, not as I do.

Your eyes widen in horror as you stare at your phone. Beads of sweat begin to saturate your palm as your fingers tremble in fear. The illuminated screen reads, "Missed Call: Mom."

Growing up with strict parents, you learn that a few things go unsaid. Manners are everything. Never talk back. Do as you're told without question. Most importantly, you develop a system and catch on to these quirks that strict parents have so that you can play their game and do what you want.

Keep Reading...Show less
friends
tv.com

"Friends" maybe didn’t have everything right or realistic all the time, but they did have enough episodes to create countless reaction GIFs and enough awesomeness to create, well, the legacy they did. Something else that is timeless, a little rough, but memorable? Living away from the comforts of home. Whether you have an apartment, a dorm, your first house, or some sort of residence that is not the house you grew up in, I’m sure you can relate to most of these!

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments