Regret will drive you mad and among the many mistakes I have made in my life and learned from, there are few that fester with regret. In fact, there is really only one regret I have about my past and it seems to haunt me on a daily basis.
“They” always say that “Hindsight is always 20/20″. And in hindsight, I do see much clearer.
Recently more than ever I have been letting go of all things negative in my life. On my birthday this year I woke up and thought to myself “If I could have any one thing for my birthday, what would I want?” I came to the conclusion very quickly that negativity needed to be eliminated in all respects.
In my elimination of negativity I decided to also eliminate regrets. I found some great quotes on regret; here are a few…
There is no man, however wise, who has not at some period of his youth said things, or lived in a way the consciousness of which is so unpleasant to him in later life that he would gladly, if he could, expunge it from his memory.
-Marcel Proust
Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience.
-Victoria Holt
Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy, you can’t build on it it’s only good for wallowing in.
-Katherine Mansfield
Yes, I may have to live with a single regret for the longer part of my life, however, what I have come out of it knowing is that I have changed and I can laugh at the momentary mental hebetude I exhibited. Overall, most people live with many regrets, so living and accepting a sole regret doesn’t seem too shabby.
He who spends time regretting the past loses the present and risks the future.
-Quevedo
So, I move on. Regretless.