There Is No Point in Regretting What Happened
Whatever happened, happened. It can never be undone. So, why waste time regretting it?
Yesterday, I came across the famous story of Thomas Edison. When an enormous fire burnt out more than half of Edison’s laboratory plant, and he and his son Charles were watching the never-ending fire, Edison said to his son, “Go and call your mother. She may never see such a great fire again.” Charles was a little hesitant, but Edison said, “It’s all right. We’ve just got rid of a lot of rubbish.”
Later that evening, Edison told the news reporter, “I’ll start all over again tomorrow, although I am over 67 years old.” And on the next day, without wasting any time, Edison began rebuilding and setting up the plant again.”
Edison could have cried, yelled, frustrated, depressed, and regretted it for the rest of his life. He had every reason to do so, and he could have gotten plenty of sympathy from around the world. But he did not do any of those things. Instead, he smiled and told his son to enjoy the sight of fire. He started working on it the very next day. He focused on the positive side and started looking forward. This is the secret of great men.
Look at any great person who has achieved a grand success. Go through their stories. You will find many disappointments, failures, frustrations and moments of pain and suffering, yet they fought and made their way to the top.
There is a great lesson here. We all face some tragedies, betrayals, failures and setbacks in our lives, and we all have painful moments that we have no control over. We all go through these fires in our life, some rough times, when things are scattered, when nothing seems to work, and we do not understand how we shall deal with it.
Things happen in life that can be beyond your control. You can’t control the actions of others around you. You can’t control natural calamities. You can’t control unexpected circumstances. You never know what will happen in the next moment. That’s life. There will be problems and challenges that you can’t do anything about. So, why regret when it was never in your control?
You can never control what happens to you, but you can always control your response.
So, why waste time regretting it? Why give it more attention and energy? Regretting is not going to improve the situation. You cannot go into the past and fix it. No one ever can. So, instead, focus on the present moment and start looking forward. Do not waste this moment by worrying or regretting.
You can focus on what could be your next move. You can focus on what did you learn from that experience. You can give your energy to the new possibilities you can explore now.
You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. — Marcus Aurelius
There is no point in regretting what has happened. Whatever happened, happened. It’s over now. It cannot be undone. Why think about it? Let it go and move on. Think about how you can grow as a person from that experience. Each and every experience in life can teach us something. Focus on the learning and move forward. A new life is waiting for you.
