What's your view on regrets?

Question

Do you think it's good to live and learn from your regrets, or is it okay to never regret anything you do whether it's good or bad, or even evil.

Consciously, emotionally, and spiritually I am torn on how I should feel about it. Should I never regret what I've done or should I acknowledge and accept it and live with the mistakes I've made in the past.

What is your opinion on this?

I know it's vague but it's just a simple question.

Thanks in advance for your insight.

Answer 1

I think its a balancing act.  Some people overburden themselves with guilt and regrets and it stymies their ability to move on with their lives; but having no regrets is not a sign of health or strength.  Too many people think its a waste of energy to not have any regrets, but we are all human and we all make mistakes so the odds are we have probably done something we should regret.  If we really regret something we will analyze our mistakes and learn from them.  Only deluded selfish jerks have absolutely no regrets.  Even Frank Sinatra had a few.

Answer 2

I dont regret anything.  Everything I do and say is all part of the plan.

Answer 3

Depends on the type of regret.  It's all good to learn from your mistakes, but it's another to make the attempt to AVOID a mistake in the first place so you won't look so stupid or miss out on an opportunity of a lifetime.

Like college for example, you can either enjoy the fast life of parties, s*x, and freedom...or you can take the other path of focus, hardcore studying, and getting the priority done first to set your life up AND THEN PARTYING.

Granted there are exceptions to these choices, but given you KNOW YOURSELF and what you're capable of, if you make the mistake of partying first and life later, you can end up regretting you made the dumb decision. Although you may possibly come back from it, you still have the regret as you could've been on the right path MUCH SOONER, and enjoy its fruits....OR h**l be better than what you are now, as BECAUSE you had to catch back up, some of your opportunities are lost.

I have tried my best to avoid regrets, i could care less about the experience of f*cking up and having to pick myself back up.  We only live so long before your age catches up to you and the things you wanted to do while you were young suddenly disappear.  Out of the regrets i've had to face, i knew that if I didn't make the dumb choices i made, my life would be much much better than now, i'd still have a number of opportunities available to me that now I don't because they've certainly passed me by now.  

Granted i've still made the most of it, i have a wonderful wife, and i'm living just enough to be decent....but as far as what I WANT in my life and what i've wanted to do is slowly fading, and i'll have to accept the fact that what i wanted to do with my life a few years ago won't happen, and what I have or will have will be all i can get.  

Sucks but we always have HOPE that something dramatic or some coincidence will set me up for success, but the odds of that are literally like winning the lottery :/.

Answer 4

You should look into your conscience and it will tell you what you feel bad about. The things that you feel bad about, you should regret because that's what keeps you from making the same mistake twice. And if you don't feel bad about something that you know is bad, or even evil, you can't force yourself to feel bad about it, but you can always try to not do it again. And if you feel good about something that you've done, then that's a good thing. Unless you feel good about killing someone in coldblood - then you need to seek help. Joking apart, these are my thoughts on the subject.

Answer 5

Definitely learn from your mistakes/regrets.  I understand your point in that you can not go back in time and change what you did, but it is also important to think about why you did what you did and why it was wrong....thus, learning from your mistake.  

Answer 6

you should be consciously aware of the things that you do; whether to yourself or to others. take responsibility for your actions. thereby living with the consequences, good or bad. yet for me, so long as i learn from all the experiences i have in my life, there is no reason to regret anything. regret causes you to hang on to things in your past, which could end up causing yourself more harm in the process.  

Answer 7

regrets? psh, what are regrets?

people make mistakes and many of times they

walk down the wrong path. but some always

turn around no matter how far down the path

they have gone. make it better- do not feel guilt.

there is no reason to have that on your shoulders

forever. it'll bring you and the people around you

down.

Answer 8

In my opinion I feel it is a waste of time to be full of regret. When a decision is made by an individual it is usually made with the knowledge that there will be consequences, be them good or bad. When a mistake has been made a person would do better to learn from what they may have done wrong and rather than dwell on the past they should look forward and aim to correct the situation or move on from it. In this way people become stronger and wiser and will also have a positive frame of mind.

However, I am aware that to regret is an emotion where a person may feel sadness, anger etc. for what they have done. By acknowledging this it shows that most people probably feel regret - it can't be avoided. Nonetheless, people must be quick to move on from this emotion so that they can better themselves and the situation by not wasting time.

I do believe that because it is a frame of mind not everyone may be able to surpass their emotions about a particular failure, as it depends on the particular traits of an individual. But this is what everyone must strive for in order to live a fulfilled and happy life.

Answer 9

My whole life has been based upon having regrets then trying to justify them and make them better. I think people with no regrets may sleep well at night, but they are not living the full human experience of trial, error and retrial.

Answer 10

Regrets just reinforce learning experiences. You really can't grow as a person until you have a few, however, they are not meant to be dwelled upon for eternity.  Take responsibility for your actions, good and bad, and move on, keeping only the lessons that they teach you.

  It is equally as bad to keep beating yourself up over past mistakes as it is to be reliving past victories ad nausium. Just take the lessons and move on, life is too short.