Word-Of-the-Week #866: Regrets
March 11, 2021 by Susan Clarke
Regrets – feelings of sorrow, disappointment, distress, or remorse about something that one wishes could be different.
Do you ever look back on your past with feelings of regret? Or have you made peace with your past so you can move on?
This week features long time friend and subscriber Joe’s response to the WOW on enjoyment. He writes,
“One of the most important of those points is in making peace with our pasts.
There are so many people who continue to regret what happened, regret what they said, regret what they did in their pasts. It reminds me of a line from a Bob Seger song, “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.” That basically says, “I wish I coulda shoulda woulda.”
But they didn’t, and now they are going back over their pasts and trying to fix it. 
But it’s done. What’s done is done. Move on. LIVE!
By continuing to live in the past, we lose tomorrow.
Once we make peace with our pasts and realize that those mistakes made us who we are today. The key is to not repeat those mistakes again.
We have to enjoy today. This day, WILL NEVER COME AGAIN. So, enjoy it.
Jim Valvano, the late basketball coach of North Carolina State University, said we should do three things every day: “Laugh, think and have your emotions move you to tears. If you do those three things every day, that’s a helluva week.”
It is also so important to simply be nice to people. If there is anything I have experienced in life is that karma is for real. How you treat people every day of your life comes back to you.
I have experienced so much goodness simply by treating people well or just lending a helping hand. We never know when it will come back to us during our lifetimes.
Susan, I don’t know if you saw the Tom Hanks’ film “A Wonderful Day In the Neighborhood,” which is about Fred Rogers. During one scene he tells the reporter to simply think of all the people who loved him into being. That was one of the most life affirming moments of the film. Many times we don’t think of all of those people who have created who we are.
As I have looked back on so much of my life, I would not change one thing, even with some of the setbacks I have experienced. Because they made me into who I am today.
Great word, Susan.
Don’t worry. BE HAPPY!
Stay well.”
And like Joe, I don’t have any regrets. I’m not proud of some of the things I have done and would have liked moving thru some periods quicker… or done things differently… or made better choices. It’s always easier to see things in hindsight. But I am the sum total of all my experiences…so to have regrets would mean that I am disappointed in myself.
This week’s focus is on not having regrets. Do you believe that everything that has happened in your life has brought you to where you are today? Do you believe in karma and that any negative past behavior can be repaired? Do you want to live in your past or be in the present?
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