Is It Normal To Have Regrets In Life?
Is It Normal To Have Regrets In Life?
As we move through our life journey, we tend to have lots of regrets that cause us to judge ourselves harshly and drag them along with us like heavy baggage. We think about these regrets over and over wishing for a retake and wondering if it is normal for everyone or just us to be consumed by our regrets and feel this way.
Yes, it is very normal and common to experience and feel regrets in life for the majority of human beings. We all at one time or another have wished that we had done something when we had a chance or done it in a certain way or wish we had not done or said something in the past.
So, you may be wondering, why do we have regrets in life? let’s discuss that next.
Why Do We Have Regrets In Life?
Regret like any other emotion comes up for reason and serves a purpose in our life. Take some time to reflect and understand what your regrets are trying to tell you. You feel regret so that you can learn, grow, and heal yourself so that you can better think through future decisions and not repeat the same mistakes in life.
In general, regrets tell you who you are being, what you want, and how you relate to the world. If you do not take the time to understand, deal with, and heal with your regrets, they could lead to depression.
Let’s prevent that by finding out how to not have regrets in life.
How Not To Have Regrets In Life
Life always happens for us and teaches us lessons before it is too late. The sooner we learn from these mistakes and course-correct, the better the chances of us living our very meaningful and fulfilling best life instead of a life full of unresolved regrets.
Let’s discuss some of these mistakes so that you avoid the potential regrets that could result if the lessons are not learnt.
Time Is Limited
Your time here on earth and on any given day are limited and therefore it is the most important resource. Make sure you are designing and living your best intentional life of purpose, and meaning in alignment with your soul. Spend a lot of time within self-reflection, meditating, praying, and connecting with your creator, and your loved ones instead of always overextending yourself and spending your time with people who do not matter, going to places that you do not want to be in and doing work that you do not like.
Do the work that you love so that you do not wish your life and days away by waiting for Fridays to come quickly and dreading Sundays in anticipation of doing work that you do not enjoy and love.
Health Is Very Important
Take care of your physical and mental health because it is very important. If you don’t have your health, nothing will matter and you will not be able to fulfill your purpose which is why you are here. You could have all the money in your bank but if you don’t have your health, you will not be able to enjoy and live your very best life.
Stay hydrated, sleep enough hours, exercise, eat nutritious food to fuel your body, consume positive messages, master your emotions, pray, spend time in silence, and meditate to stay connected to your created today.
Cherish Your Relationships
Cherish, value your relationships with your loved ones, and do not take them for granted. They will not be here on this earth forever. I am sure everyone one of us has lost a loved one too soon and wished that we had spent more time with them. Spend enough time with your loved ones, connect often, call, hug, kiss, tell them how you feel about them often, and keep in touch with them regularly.
Don’t hold grudges and learn to forgive them. End relationships that are not good for you sooner so that you do not waste precious years of your life being miserable among other long-term consequences.
Challenges Are Inevitable
Know that as long as you’re here on this earth school there will be challenges so you can learn and grow. Do not feel that challenges should have not happened the way they did. Take the time to acknowledge and learn the lessons because if you don’t then they will continue to repeat until you do learn the lessons. Remember the purpose of every human being here on this earth is to grow from life’s challenges and then to serve in a bigger and better way.
Everyone Can Be Grateful
Do not live your life questioning your choices, living in scarcity, and thinking you are lacking and are short-changed in any way. Learn to be grateful for all the things that you have been blessed with, recall as many things as possible, and show appreciation every single day. Gratitude will help you raise your energy and live as your higher, abundant, and joyful self.
Kindness Is Not Weakness
Be kind to yourself and others because that is who we are by nature. Forgive yourself and others or all the mistakes and decisions that you made in the past that did not serve you and others. We are not fear, angry, or jealousy. We are kindness, compassion, love, peace, joy and abundance. Kindness is not a weakness even though society may tell us it is. When you are being kind, you have aligned your soul, your creator, and are acting from your higher self.
Live An Authentic Life
Live your authentic life unapologetically before it is too late and your time here is done. Be the real you at all times instead of living a fake life because you are worried about being judged by others. You are exactly the way you are meant to be able to serve your purpose.
People who love you will support and rally around you and will not judge. People who judge you at times are perhaps not meant to stay in your life. You are only accountable to yourself and your creator.
Stop Comparing
Do not compare yourself and your journey to other people’s journeys and diminish your joy. You were not meant to live that way. Everybody’s here for their purpose. What someone else is portraying on social media may just be a good moment and not be their real-life majority of the time.
Live your journey and compare yourself to who you were being yesterday. Are you growing and are you serving that’s all that matters and so don’t worry about what everybody else is doing.
Cannot Change Others
You are not responsible for others and so cannot change them. They have to take the initiative and commitment to their self-development and growth for them to grow and change. Also, no matter how nice you are, you cannot please everyone and change their opinion about you and so do not bother trying. Stay on purpose, connect to your creator, and you will be always guided.
Do not worry about others’ opinions of you. As you will eventually discover that most of the time people do not care about others they are simply absorbed by their wants and life and are not thinking about you.
You Are Responsible For Your Happiness
You are 100% responsible for creating your happiness and life by design and nobody else can do that for you. Learn to master your own emotions, and know what you want out of life, your values, vision, purpose, identity, thoughts, beliefs, feelings, actions, and habits which then will create your destiny and best life. Know what makes you happy and do that often.
Do Not Aspire To Be Perfect
Never aspire to be perfect because no one is. People need and are awaiting you to do your work that you were born to do even if it is not perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, learns from them, and grows. When you grow and become better then you can serve your purpose in a bigger and better way. Never be afraid to try something new and know that it is completely okay to make mistakes.
Do Not Let Fear Stop You
Do not let fears and doubts keep you from designing and living your best purposeful, meaningful fulfilling life. It is normal for you to feel fear because your brain is built for survival and efficiency. Whenever we detect something new, our brains warn us via feeling the emotion of fear as it attempts to keep us safe.
You can tell whether it is a real dangerous situation or just something new and outside your comfort zone. It’s okay to feel the fear, and take action with courage and faith because your growth is outside your comfort zone. Live your best life because you’re only here for a short time so don’t waste it.
In conclusion, you now know that it is very normal, and common to experience and feel regrets in life for the majority of us. We all at one time or another have wished that we had done something when we had a chance or done it in a certain way or wish we had not done or said something in the past.
Regrets like any other emotion come up for a reason and serve a purpose in our life. It helps you learn, grow, and heal so that you can better think through future decisions and not repeat the same mistakes in life. It is important to take some time for self-reflection and understand what your regrets are trying to tell you.
In general, they tell you who you are being, what you want and how you are relating to the world. If you do not take the time to understand, deal and heal with your regrets they could lead to depression.
Some ways to not have regrets in life are to know that time is limited and do not waste it, take care of your health before it is too late, cherish your relationships and treat them well before it is too late. Challenges in life are inevitable, so face them and do not feel that they should have not happened, no matter what kind of life you are living, know that you have a lot to be grateful for.
Being kind is not a weakness so do not regret being kind when someone is rude. Live your authentic life unapologetically without any regrets, stop comparing yourself to others and feeling bad about your life, you cannot change others, you are responsible for your happiness, you cannot be perfect because no one is, and do not let fear keep you from your very best life.
Next, read what is a mentally strong person to continue your self-development journey.