Living with Regret And Not Being Consumed By it
It’s an art
We make mistakes we can’t undo. We miss opportunities we may never have again. We meet so many people we’ll never speak to again. Is this the sum total of all the things we regret later in life? Maybe.
I’ve never had the feeling of regretting anything I’ve done. For me, the crushing part of life is knowing that I won’t experience half the things I want to experience, that I can’t be everywhere at once, that I can’t learn and know everything, the people I’ll never meet. That’s what I regret — never discovering the full potential of what life can offer.
Every day I have to learn to be gentle with myself, to be grateful for what I have experienced and what I have yet to experience, even if reality doesn’t always live up to expectations. Every day I have to learn to live with regret and not let it consume me.
As artists and creatives, I think it’s doubly challenging to reconcile our aspirations with the realities of life and accept that there are only so many hours in the day and so many opportunities. We have this strong desire to express ourselves fully all the time — but we can’t.
Living with regret and not letting it consume you is an art, a delicate balance that requires emotional intelligence and self-awareness. Throw in a few mindfulness practices along the way as well, and it might just make life more bearable.
But deep down, we know that we’re always walking a tightrope and that any misstep could lead to a dangerous fall.
What strategies do you use to overcome feelings of regret?