Dealing With Regret

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy and we hold ourselves back.  It is easy to allow our lives to be consumed by regret, but we are doing this at our expense.  Regret not only takes us from a point of evaluating our previous days, but if we aren't careful, it can paralyze our future days.

Like most other people in life, I'm sure I am not the only one that has had moments of regret.  There have been actions that I took which led me into things I would have not wished upon anyone.  There are moments of shame that I wish I could have stepped out of and not had to live with it as many years as I did.  There have been decisions that I have made which I wished I could have went back and changed.

Regret though can be a killer.  Sometimes regret has hog-tied me to the point of keeping me from moving forward.  Regret loves fear and it often walks hand in hand with it.

I'm sure if I asked you what one thing you had regret for in life, it would not be difficult to name.  However, if I asked how you began to let regret go and began dealing with it, the answer would be much harder to state.  Unfortunately too many of us continue to harbor regret for most of our life.  We don't let go of it because of the shame and fear associated with it.

Living With Regret

Reading a blog the other day, I shared it on social media, but thought it was so good that I needed to share it on here.  Of course, I'm going to just quote a brief section of it.  You will have to read the entire thing and trust me, it is well worth the read.

Healthy regret gives you a way to reflect on the past and make different choices. Unhealthy regret prevents you from living in the present because you are still carrying the past, like a monkey on your back. It’s like the Zen story about two monks who came across a woman struggling to cross a stream.- From Soulseeds Blog