"No regrets" is a pretty commonly known saying, especially among youth. In simple terms, it means to live a life without feeling bad for anything you've done or any decision you've made. Sounds ideal, right? Live every day like you've never made any mistakes and basically, have no conscience. But let's be real for 5 minutes guys -- that's not realistic. And that's OK.
I think there is a little something in all of us that tries to live by those terms. We try to always wear a smile every day and act like we are perfectly happy with how everything in life is going. Sometimes we want to act as if we are living a life of "no regrets" and that we are always living perfect, fun-filled lives. I think we can all agree that's not the case.
I am not writing this article saying that we should live in our own pity parties and always complain to others about problems in life. However, I am saying that it is OK to have these regrets. That is how you learn and grow. They are inevitable.
A regret is something that did, or did not, happen in the past that you feel saddened or disappointed about. It can be a missed opportunity, a wrong choice, or something you decided to do that maybe didn't end up so well. Whatever it may be, it can often times be hard to see through that one wrong turn in life. Sometimes we let our past mistakes captivate so much of our thoughts that it seems like the only way to save you form yourself is to hide away from others. But this is the thing about a regret -- it is something that happened in the past. Sure, you will go through a period of grieving that regret, but it is important to take that period of time where you felt so bad and use it as your lesson for the future. The only thing that can be done about a regret of the past is to learn something from it. You only fail yourself if you continue to do what made you upset in the past.
The beauty in having regrets throughout life is that they teach us about the kind of person we want to be. If you are regretting something you did from the past, it means your mind is telling you that your past actions do not reflect who you truly are. Without making these mistakes and having these regrets, we wouldn't be able to know just what we do and don't want and the kind of life we want to live. No, living with regrets is not something we aspire to do. However, having regrets and learning how to better yourself from them, is something we can do. Always remember that God loves you and forgives you. Forgive yourself, pray for your future, and take with you the lessons you have learned.
