The Usefulness Of Regret
Posted 11-08-2016 at 08:17 AM by TruckWife518
I have heard some people say they have no regrets. I have also heard some people say they don't believe in regrets. Well, I don't know if I necessarily would go as far as to say either of those statements.
See, I actually do believe in regrets. I just don't necessarily believe in dwelling on them forever.
I think when we regret something we did, it's a sign of growth and a sign that we are acknowledging to ourselves (and others, if necessary) that we understand and even admit that we made a poor decision.
I feel that if I personally don't regret something I did way back in my past, then how will I learn to not repeat the same mistakes in judgement?
In my past. I did and said a LOT of stupid stuff. There were times I said stuff in haste that I should not have said, boyfriends I never should have given the time of day to, decisions that I should have said "yes" to that I said "no" to and of course, there was often stuff that I said "no" to that I should have said "yes" to.
Now, like I said, I'm not saying that I or you should dwell on our past mistakes and beat ourselves up about them every day until we die. Of course not.
However, one useful thing about regret is that we can use it as a growth tool and stepping stone to greater maturity. I figure, if I can't even admit or acknowledge to at least myself where I went wrong, how can I expect to NOT repeat those same mistakes again?
I remember on the sitcom Happy Days years ago, Fonzie always had an extremely hard time saying "I was wrong" or saying "I'm sorry." In my opinion, that was very childish of him.
I think the sooner we have sense enough to recognize we should regret something we said or did (or something we NEGLECTED to say or do), the sooner we can grow, get out of that spot, and move on.
I have heard that in life, when we don't learn a particular lesson of some sort, life will keep making us go through that same experience repeatedly until we learn the lesson. I don't know for sure if that's true or not but I figure, why take the chance?
Some things in life I would never want to re-live. I'd rather experience the regret, learn the lesson, and move on with my life.
See, I actually do believe in regrets. I just don't necessarily believe in dwelling on them forever.
I think when we regret something we did, it's a sign of growth and a sign that we are acknowledging to ourselves (and others, if necessary) that we understand and even admit that we made a poor decision.
I feel that if I personally don't regret something I did way back in my past, then how will I learn to not repeat the same mistakes in judgement?
In my past. I did and said a LOT of stupid stuff. There were times I said stuff in haste that I should not have said, boyfriends I never should have given the time of day to, decisions that I should have said "yes" to that I said "no" to and of course, there was often stuff that I said "no" to that I should have said "yes" to.
Now, like I said, I'm not saying that I or you should dwell on our past mistakes and beat ourselves up about them every day until we die. Of course not.
However, one useful thing about regret is that we can use it as a growth tool and stepping stone to greater maturity. I figure, if I can't even admit or acknowledge to at least myself where I went wrong, how can I expect to NOT repeat those same mistakes again?
I remember on the sitcom Happy Days years ago, Fonzie always had an extremely hard time saying "I was wrong" or saying "I'm sorry." In my opinion, that was very childish of him.
I think the sooner we have sense enough to recognize we should regret something we said or did (or something we NEGLECTED to say or do), the sooner we can grow, get out of that spot, and move on.
I have heard that in life, when we don't learn a particular lesson of some sort, life will keep making us go through that same experience repeatedly until we learn the lesson. I don't know for sure if that's true or not but I figure, why take the chance?
Some things in life I would never want to re-live. I'd rather experience the regret, learn the lesson, and move on with my life.
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