| In all of our lives, there have been circumstances | | | | to walk towards that door in the most direct path |
| where things turned out differently than we | | | | to achieve that goal. As we are walking towards |
| thought they should have when looking back. | | | | the door, we slip and fall because we didn't see a |
| Regret is when we feel sorrowful for those | | | | wet spot on the ground. In the moment that we |
| results and wish that something different resulted. | | | | were walking towards the door, we had the right |
| Regret is born from our non-acceptance of what | | | | strategy in mind to produce the result. However, |
| has happened. Though we cannot change what | | | | something unforeseen occurred, which caused us |
| has happened, we hold the wish for something | | | | not to meet our goal. Two days later, we look |
| different in our minds. We may think that we | | | | back on the experience and suffer regret over it. |
| should have done something differently to avoid | | | | We feel as if we should have seen the water |
| the situation all together or to change the results. | | | | spot. What if we cleaned the entire house before |
| However, our suffering over what has happened | | | | we set out on our goal? If we had taken another |
| is what we create right now. That is our regret. | | | | path towards the door, we would have |
| The old saying, "Hind sight is 20/20" gives us part | | | | accomplished our goal. Because we NOW know |
| of the story. It is very easy to look at what has | | | | about the wet spot, we feel as if we should have |
| happened some time ago, with all of the | | | | known about it all along and blame ourselves for |
| components in front of us to make a judgment | | | | not knowing. Most of us would then torment |
| on what we "should" have done. However, in the | | | | ourselves over our lack of knowledge and over |
| moment we made the decisions that we made, | | | | not achieving our goal, when we did everything |
| we were doing the best we could with what we | | | | we knew to do at that time. |
| knew and with what we had at the time. | | | | Regret is useless. In regret, we relive the past |
| No one purposely sets out to do something that | | | | with a twist. We no longer see what actually |
| isn't in his or her best interest or in the best | | | | happened. We see what happened with a |
| interests of those around them. We all have | | | | judgment of what we should have done |
| reasons for doing the things that we do that | | | | differently. We suffer over what we did instead |
| makes sense to us when we do them. Rather | | | | of learning from it. If we looked at what |
| than seeing that we did the best with what we | | | | happened, accepted it, and appreciated the |
| had at the time, we judge our actions by the | | | | experience for what it showed us, we would allow |
| results we received. When the results are | | | | ourselves to move forward from there. Because |
| unfavorable, we beat ourselves up with our | | | | we judge the experience, and don't really accept |
| regrets. We could have used the most sound logic | | | | it when our "shoulds" get in the way, we don't |
| and strategy available to us, but because the | | | | move past it. We relive the same experience |
| results were not what we were targeting, we | | | | over and over. |
| feel bad. | | | | In our hopes that we will not repeat the same |
| We must begin to understand that we do not | | | | situation again, we repeat it in our minds over and |
| have control over results. All we have control | | | | over. Our mind can't tell the difference between |
| over is what we think and what we do. If we | | | | reality and imagination, so we do that which we |
| want to walk to our front door, it makes sense | | | | sought to avoid anyway. |