How to Live Without Regret

It’s hard to keep regret out of your life. No matter where you find yourself today, there’s a chance that you’ll have certain things you wish you did differently. I have recently gone through a period of this myself. My father recently passed away, and as his primary caregiver at the end, I wonder if I made all the right decisions. As his daughter, the overwhelmed and overworked person who cared for him, I wonder if I was as kind and loving to him as I could have been. We’re human and these thoughts happen to us, but when you strive to look at your situation with a different perspective, you’ll gain a better understanding about life and you’ll learn to live without regret.

I am not saying that you’ll completely eliminate regret in your life, you can take steps to reduce it. Strive to keep your life organized and live you life your way.

Establish Your Priorities

One way to begin living without regret is to sort out your priorities. Ask yourself what ultimate goal you’re working towards. Are you happy with where you are and where you’re going? If you’re living your life according to plan and you’re happy, then you have nothing to regret.

If changes need to be made, taking small steps may be of help to you. Once you’ve made decisions that you’re comfortable with, you may feel as if a weight has been lifted from your shoulders. This is regret leaving your life!

Live By the Golden Rule

Everyone can benefit by living his or her life with the golden rule in mind. The golden rule is known in all of the world’s religions. It’s special because it’s a concept that we can all agree on, despite our differences. Simply stated, the golden rule is: “Treat people the way you’d like to be treated.” If you do this, you’ll definitely keep your regrets to a minimum. You’ll be learning how to treat people with kindness no matter what. You’ll be learning how to treat people fairly and you’ll gain empathy. When you put yourself in someone else’s shoes before you act, you’ll be less likely to engage in an act that you’ll regret later. Although I may have felt some anger and overwhelm when I was caring for my father, all HE saw was love, care and concern.

Take Swift Action

The next step is to take swift action in your life. You only have one life and the time is now. If your goals are clear and you know what you want, what are you waiting for? A common regret most people have is that they are not doing the things that are truly important to them. You need to do these things instead of putting them off until tomorrow!

Have you always wanted to start your own business? Start one! Would you like to get back in touch with long lost friends or family members? Do it! Yes, it might be difficult, yet it really is so simple once you’ve made the commitment to act.

Spend Time with Loved Ones

Spend all the time you can with your loved ones. If they live far away, visit when you can and call often. What I witnessed with my Dad was that he just wanted to feel like he mattered, and really, isn’t that what we all want? Technology makes keeping in touch with distant friends and family members easier than ever…you don’t have money to visit? Well, then, how about a Face Time or Skype call? A card in the mail that says you’re thinking about them, or an email or text can work just as well. I promise you that you will NEVER regret any of these efforts.

Make time for immediate family by scheduling dinners together or a family night out. This is the time when your technology gets put into a basket in another room. Put the phones down. No games, no remotes. Have a conversation. Delve into the relationships you have with your family. A common regret is sticking to surface topics when it comes to your family. Find out the hopes, fears and even regrets of your family members. I learned more about my father and our family in the last couple of weeks of his life than I did in my entire lifetime. Sharing your regrets can be another way of coming to a resolution!

Forget Regret

Ultimately, it always comes down to the fact that you can’t change the past no matter how hard you try, nor how often you think about it. All you can do is take action now to change what happens in the future. I know that I did the very best I knew how to for my Dad. At the end, he was content and pain free. He knew that his family and friends loved him very much. Had that not been the case, there would be nothing I could do about it now, however, I would have learned a very valuable lesson. As long as we learn from our mistakes we can live without regret.

Regret clouds our current thinking and stands in the way of a happy future. But you have the power to blast through regret and move forward with your life!

Until next time

xo Jamie Lee xowww.gohappyyourself.com