Note to Self: Life is short, don’t waste time on regrets …
The past is a great place and I don’t want to erase it or to regret it, but I don’t want to be its prisoner either. ~Mick Jagger
Most people have some regret from their past they can’t seem to shake. Something we wish we’d done differently, or something we wish we hadn’t done at all. As we get older we learn and grow. But that doesn’t mean we have to regret what we did before we learned how to do things differently.
If we hadn’t gone through those experiences we might not have grown into the strong and knowledgeable people we are today.
Regrets are such a waste of a good life. So I’d like to propose that starting right now you begin to exorcise those old could have’s, might have’s, and should have’s—and start living a life that won’t make you feel regretful. Not even at an older, wiser age.
I’ve collected the following inspirational thoughts for you … see if you can identify a consistent thread that points to the key to successfully living a life without regret.
Thoughts on living life without regrets …
- I have no regrets in my life. I think that everything happens to you for a reason. The hard times that you go through build character, making you a much stronger person. ~Rita Mareo
- Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is. ~Mary Anne Racmacher
- I would much rather have regrets about not doing what people said than regretting not doing what my heart led me to and wondering what life had been like if I’d just been myself. ~Brittany Renee
- He who spends time regretting the past loses the present and risks the future. ~Santiz Quevedo
- Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets. ~Author Unknown
- Life is short, don’t waste time worrying about what people think of you. Hold on to the ones that care, in the end they will be the only ones there. ~Author Unknown
- Accept everything about yourself – I mean everything. You are you and that is the beginning and the end – no apologies, no regrets. ~Henry Kissinger
- This life is yours. Take the power to choose what your want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy. ~Susan Polis Schutz
- I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life’s greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret. ~Anthony Robbins
- We must all suffer from one of two pains; the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons. ~Jim Rohn
- If you aren’t in the moment, you are either looking forward to uncertainty, or back to pain and regret. ~Jim Carrey
- My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long. I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don’t make that mistake yourself. Life’s too damn short. ~Armistead Maupin
- The only thing I regret about my past is the length of it. If I had to live my life again I’d make all the same mistakes – only sooner. ~Tallulah Bankhead
- Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true. ~Robert Brault
- The follies which a man regrets the most in his life are those which he didn’t commit when he had the opportunity. ~Helen Rowland
- Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. ~Sydney J. Harris
- The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone. ~Harriet Beecher Stowe
Did you identify the thread? I’ll give you a hint, “it’s regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” Choosing to live smaller “safer” lives in order to avoid mistakes, is the surest path to regret over a life unfulfilled.
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Twitter: jaclyncastro
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Sigh – I love Jim Rohn and Tony Robbins and that’s probably the reason why out of this list I resonated with their quotes the most!
What Jim Rohn said about the two pains; the pain of discipline or the pain of regret, is priceless! And what Tony Robbins said about the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret… what a genius this guy is. Dreams and regrets, two totally different elements of the spectrum!
Thanks for sharing Marquita! Reading this list makes me feel proud about not having any regrets of my own. I only learn from falling forward.
-Jaclyn Castro
Jaclyn Castro recently posted..3 Things to Keep in Mind to STOP Taking Things Personal – A Useful Guide for Network Marketers
Twitter: steveborgman
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Jaclyn and Marquita, I echo the Jim Rohn quote: what a great reminder for a daily affirmation: “I choose the pain of discipline over the pain of regret.”
Just a word about regrets, though. We need not let regrets of things done or left undone define our present and future. Sometimes we can learn our greatest lessons through those regrets. So as we look back on this last year, let’s embrace our regrets and learn how we can do things differently this next year.
Steve-Personal Success Factors recently posted..Now You Can Be As Productive As These Top CEO’s
Twitter: lizkimeria
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Hi Marty:
This is a great post. Yes indeed life is short and we definitely do not want to regret at the end of how we lived it. The good thing is we can all learn from our mistakes as we grow and we make different choices. We can chose to move on and be better or we can chose to get stuck in the past. Thanks for sharing.
Liz K : Success From Home Trainining recently posted..10 Quick Tips on Building Your Direct Sales Marketing Business
Hi Marty,
Great topic and great insights.
This is an awesome list of inspiring quotes you have provided. I am partial to Tony Robbins and Jim Rohn, but many of them resonate with me.
You really hit the nail on the head with ” “it’s regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.”
Fear of Failure is no excuse and certainly failure is nothing to be ashamed of. It is from failure that we learn so much and have our greatest triumphs.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and it is easy to look back and say we could have done things differently. But, the key is to learn from the past, but don’t live in the past with regrets. Live in the present, stay positive and live your life with intention and commit.
I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes..
“All life is a chance. So take it! The person who goes furthest is the one who is willing to do and dare.”~ Dale Carnegie, motivational expert
Keep inspiring us,
Marc
Marc Korn recently posted..Why You Need To Join A MasterMind Group
Twitter: coerdelion
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Thanks for this post – so inspiring
Welcome Fiona and I’m so glad you enjoyed the article!
Hi, Marty!
I partially agree with this view-indeed, our time is too precious to waste it on regrets, because before we know it, we might end up regreting our whole life. But, on the other hand, whether things happen with a reason or not, regrets are a feeling that make us humans. Without sense of guilt or regret in situations where such feelings occur, we would be just robots… mechanical beings moving around. Feeling regret is perfectly normal and shouldn’t be avoided, as it is an opportunity to discover ourselves in a different angle and, thus, upgrade our character and experience in life.
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Hi Kristina, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Great insight on the value of regret … I agree feeling regret and from time to time guilt is perfectly normal and there is some value – where it becomes a problem is when we hang on to it over the years. Then it becomes a weight around our necks and prevents us from living life fully.
Twitter: socialmathandU
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I believe you should never regret your past, but embrace and learn from it. This is how we build apone ourselves. As they sy history is the past teacher. TTYL
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Nice post Marquita. No regrets for me either
We can make an about-face and look directly at our past. Looked at all of our regrets, mistakes and failures — yet from a different perspective? Odds are, when we consider our past today, we do so from a place of guilt and shame. Perhaps we feel embarrassed over such things even while alone.
I encourage clients to consider these past experiences as life lessons and merely their attempts to meet their emotional needs. What was the feeling at the time? Why was that choice made? What was needed that they didn’t know how to meet any other way?
Finally, I ask them if these very same needs still unmet for them today.
Rachel Lavern recently posted..Top 5 Reasons Affirmations Fail
This is one to visit every time we have a day of regret, thanks, my favorite is:
Life is short, don’t waste time worrying about what people think of you. Hold on to the ones that care, in the end they will be the only ones there. ~Author Unknown
For all those who would beat one’s self up we must be thinking about how to use the past to make a better tomorrow!
~ Lynda Cromar
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Hey Marty,
Thanks for the effort you put into this collection. Now I have a resource of stuff I can tweet out
and also put as status updates on my fb. But seriously, I really agree that life should be led without regrets… It is but HUMAN for us to scratch our head a bit thinking, why did I do that? or I shouldn’t have. But one should not dwell on that and move forward , learn the lesson and pick up from there 
Thanks!
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Hi Marty,
What a great list of quotes. I hit 60 in a few months and I can tell you I don’t regret travelling overseas when I had a promising career, being put in prison by mercenaries and simply wandering aimlessly in South America for nearly a year.
I don’t regret quitting the corporate world at age 36 when I was on a fast track to the top and going on a new age trek including Ashrams in India, 6 months in New York, and working with Native American Shamans.
I don’t regret organising my own brand of Enlightenment festivals, lecturing on all manner of metaphysical subjects and branching out into network marketing.
I don’t regret finally fathering a child at 54 and finding out what a joy parenthood is.
In summary, I have done a lot of crazy things and enjoyed every minute of them. Follow your heart and you can’t go wrong!
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John,
I think you are my newest hero….that is one impressive list.
Good for you.. you are passionate in everything you do and follow your heart and live a life without regret.
Now, that is a life fulfilled…way to go.
Keep it up …
Marc
Marc Korn recently posted..Why You Need To Join A MasterMind Group
Life is short indeed and we must make the most out of it because when our time is almost over and recalling the things that we wanted to so and never done is maybe the biggest regret that a person can have.
Julie Hayes recently posted..Best Alarm System
Life is too precious to live it with regrets. There are things in life that are not meant to be and there’s nothing we can do about it, so we should learn to accept it no matter how hard it is for us.
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Good insights Marty.. They are so inspiring…
As Steve Jobs says, ““Life is brief, and then you die, you know?”. So what is his point? Lets be bold, live every brief moment as it is our last. Take risk, take the plunge to achieve your goals. Too many times we find ourselves talking about an idea and talking about how we can accomplish our ideas instead of actually doing them. Because as you have said, “it’s regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.”
Jeff
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Hi Marty
Thanks for a great post , I so agree with every word.
They say the biggest regrets in on peoples death bed’s
and that is why did I not take a risk…
We only live one’s why not live it to the full and do
every thing we can that we want to do?
Regards
Theuns
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Hey Marquita,
This such a powerful post. After the death of Steve Jobs earlier in the week. I can’t tell you how that has effected me. For someone who I never met…I have been taken a back by his achievements and his persistence to live the life he believed he should.
It is a testament to what one person can achieve and how one persons actions can have such a massive influence on so many more.
But even if we haven’t been living the way we should thus far…where is the benefit of dwelling on what could have been when we should be thankful for the experiences and where we are going next.
Thank you for sharing this post, I really appreciated it.
To Your Success,
Beth
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