I’m sure by now you’ve all met at least one person who says that they have “no regrets.” None. Not one.
This is me. No.. not in the picture. I mean someone who doesn’t believe in regrets.
It’s actually my life motto.
Okay.. I have a few others too, but this is one that I absolutely guarantee that I live up to, every single day.
Now I’m sure there is some skepticism behind this. Some of you are thinking, “what do you mean? How could you never have had a single regret?” So let me explain it to you:
I’d like to start by telling you that I have had regrets. It was years and years ago. I had regrets that I thought about constantly. Then one day I realized, why? Why was I going to let all of my silly mistakes – from my past – consume my life – in the present? That seems so illogical. Then one day I decided that it’s not worth it. There’s no point in consuming yourself and your life because of something in the past. There’s no point in thinking about it because you can’t go back and change it. There’s no such thing as a time machine yet, so it shouldn’t matter. If you regret things now, later you’ll regret having those regrets and letting them consume you; do you see how this could become circular?
Now I would like to clarify, this does not give you the right to be a complete jerk to everyone then say “Yo dude, no regrets! It’s in the past.” NO. Don’t pull a Rafiki.
…That’s not how it works. If it’s something that needs to be fixed, fix it. If you need to apologize, then apologize. By fixing it, by apologizing, you are bringing it into the present, and that is OK.
Another thing is that I’m not saying you should sit in your room day after day eating chips, watching TV, etc. Then say, “No regrets.” I mean if that makes you happy, by all means, continue. I’m sure you’re rocking those sweats and that messy bun. However, the idea of having no regrets is to not only not worry about things you can’t change, but also to change the things you can. If you want to go skydiving today, hell; go for it. If you want to become a zipline tour guide (yes.. my summer job) DO IT. Don’t let those opportunities pass you by. If you want something go for it. Maybe my examples are too extreme for you, so let me bring it down a couple levels and just say if you like someone, tell him/her. Don’t wait for him/her to figure it out. Chances are he/she could be waiting for you to figure it out. If he/she ends up with a different girlfriend/boyfriend, aren’t you going to wish you had told him/her how you felt? Cuz now you can’t. Don’t be a homewrecker. Basically, don’t put yourself in situations you will regret later, but don’t be afraid to take those chances. Take a risk. Challenge yourself everyday. Do something you’re afraid of.
My motto of no regrets is focused on moving on from things you can’t change: there’s no point in dwelling on it, what’s that doing for you!? But also it focuses on taking those chances that you want to take, doing the things you want to do, because in ten, twenty, maybe even fifty years, when you look back, you do not want to be saying, “I really wish I had done that when I had a chance.”
Your chance is NOW. Take it, grab hold. And don’t live for this moment. Live for EVERY moment because you don’t know when or if you’ll have another.
And remember to NEVER hold regrets too close to your head or your heart.
Ciao
xo
~Jenny
wanderlustic2 