To Have Regrets or Not to Have Regrets...

Many people say "I regret nothing."

For at least some of these people, I feel the instinct to doubt that.

But maybe some people really don't regret anything. Is that realistic?

Can somebody really go through life without any regrets?

Is it really better to go through life having no regrets?

Is it good to avoid regretting things?

What if someone has regrets as long as they are honest about them, accept them and let go of them? Is this more realistic or better for the average person in some way?

I would honestly like to say I regret nothing, but in all truth, I do have regrets. It comes to mind for me that perhaps a regret might be a reflection of a lesson learned. Maybe that is why it seems to me that having no regrets seems unrealistic - because it seems as if, if someone never regretted anything, then they have never experienced something that reflected a significant life lesson involving trial and error.

Your thoughts?

"And in my dying breath, my heart holds no regrets... I wouldn't change a thing."

Sure, I feel sad that there's things I won't be able to do, and some regret for some things I've done, BUT everything you've done has led up to this point, to create who you are now. I may have regrets, but I wouldn't change a damn thing.

better to regret something you HAVE done, than to regret something you havent.

I have a couple regrets...

I dont dwell on them, but I hold them close, as to not repeat the errors of my hunt for myself...

In todays society, shoot, even then, they sent me to the school shrinks to "talk about my feelings"...

If you tell people the scary stuff that goes on in your head, they pronounce you mentally ill, and feed you pills... NO WAY MR.!!

No pills for Jestor...

It's my insanity, leave it alone...:lol:

And, before I caught it, insanity let me get away with a couple of things that kids are on Maury, and Jerry Springer for now...

I got lucky...

We all know we are the accumulation of our past, and still a development of our future selves...

I think those regrets of mine helped me to be a better person, by holding myself responsible for my actions...

Maybe when/if I forgive myself, I can have none...

But, they do not affect my day to day... They do not paralyze me...

I sometimes say "I don't regret anything", by which I mean that I recognise that I have learnt from everything that has occurred in my life and that it all contributes to what makes me the person that I am now.

But at the same time, it is not true, because I do have regrets about certain things...I find it almost impossible to believe that there is someone out there with absolutely no regrets whatsoever...

But I think that there are plenty of people out there like me who have regrets whilst recognising that those things that we regret have also been of benefit to us...

For instance, I regret not looking for employment after I graduated university - but if I hadn't been sat around at home with nothing to do and with a sense that my life was stalling I don't believe that I would have found my way to TOTJO, or Jediism. So whilst I regret it...I also don't regret it at all.

Confusing eh?

V-Tog wrote: I sometimes say "I don't regret anything", by which I mean that I recognise that I have learnt from everything that has occurred in my life and that it all contributes to what makes me the person that I am now.

But at the same time, it is not true, because I do have regrets about certain things...I find it almost impossible to believe that there is someone out there with absolutely no regrets whatsoever...

But I think that there are plenty of people out there like me who have regrets whilst recognising that those things that we regret have also been of benefit to us...

For instance, I regret not looking for employment after I graduated university - but if I hadn't been sat around at home with nothing to do and with a sense that my life was stalling I don't believe that I would have found my way to TOTJO, or Jediism. So whilst I regret it...I also don't regret it at all.

Confusing eh?

You know, I think that is a wonderful example of a life paradox, probably not always meant to be understood, but just its nature plays a role in defining where we are in our lives - while there comes a lack of one thing, in order comes an abundance of something else.

I also wonder if the nature of a regret, in this way, as we're discussing it, is simply part of this same type of paradox...

Proteus wrote: What if someone has regrets as long as they are honest about them, accept them and let go of them? Is this more realistic or better for the average person in some way?

Your thoughts?

Define "average" :evil: :laugh: No don't go there.

I've said and done some stupid things that I feel bad for. That's in the past but I hope I've learned from them and my butt is behind me. I'll proabably say or do something else stupid over time.

If you can't be honest with yourself then who can you be honest with?

Proteus wrote: What if someone has regrets as long as they are honest about them, accept them and let go of them?

This, I think, says it best how I feel about the topic of regrets. I do think it is unrealistic to say no one has regrets. Regret itself is merely a tool. It allows us to examine that which is causing the regret. Regret acts as a spot light, if you will, showing us decisions and actions in our past that may have caused us or others undue suffering. It is what we do with the regret that is important. Recognize it for what it, listen to what it is teaching, and then let it go completely with your thanks. It has done its job and may now go and we can go forward having learned from the regret.

It is when we hold on to the regrets and relive them in our heads and play the woulda, shoulda, coulda game that we bring even more suffering into our lives.

i regret nothing...i do ponder choices not taken, but i do not regret the choices made...why? because i am resolved to always stand behind my decisions no matter what the outcome. i weigh my options and make decisions based on the information at hand, and prepare myself for the consequences that may come.

regrets are like old worn out luggage...sure you've had it a long time, but it doesn't hold up the way it used to and on a long trip will likely cause you more problems than it's worth...just throw it away and travel light

I can't say I have no regrets - I do. Would I change where I am now? Yes! I would like to be where I'm at with no guilt about things I've done in the past and people I wasted time and energy on. :sick: Call me a pessimist, I probably am, but I know that I would be far better off not having some of the experiences I've had. I know my current situation in life would be better having not put myself and those who matter around me through some things. Do I dwell on them? Sometimes I do. :dry: Do I let them consume me and make me miserable and depressed? No way. What's done is done and the only thing I can do is move forward and learn from my very obvious mistakes.

I suppose it would depend on your personal definition of "regret", though, right?