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| Yes | 43% | 617 votes | Total: 1421 votes | |
| No | 57% | 804 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesThere is, absolutely, no doubt that you can live your life without regrets. It is easy to do when you go into a situation with your eyes wide open. Search your heart, find out whom you are deep down inside, and decide what you truly want to do with your life. Define your goals, and determine to make the best decisions from this point forward. Remember, you cannot change one iota of your past, but you have complete control of your future.
There is not one, single thing you can do about the mistakes you have made in the past, except examine them to understand what you could have done differently. Your past has put you on the path you tread today, and you can use the knowledge of the years to make the best decisions for your life. Regretting the things you have done in the past is a deadly weapon against your happiness, and doing this will haunt you everyday if you do not redirect your thoughts. Instead of regretting something that you have done, chalk it up as a mistake, learn from it, and move on.
Live with intention. Believe in yourself, and stop drifting through life in fear. You will be so much happier when you take charge of your own life and leave all of the regrets behind. Honor the good and the bad choices you have made in the past because they are a part of you, now. Do not torture yourself with regrets. As long as you do not repeat the same mistakes you have made in the past, you should not waste time with these unpleasant thoughts. If you need to make amends for a wrong that you have inflicted on someone, then do so with true intentions. Clear the cobwebs of a guilt- ridden persona and move on with your life, full speed ahead.
If you look at a situation with fresh eyes, you can find the positive with anything in life. Something good can come from even the worst things, no matter how bad they seem. Live and learn. Making mistakes is part of living, but you have to leave your regrets behind. It is wasteful to use your time and energy regretting what you have done in the past. Should have, would have, and could have are not part of my vocabulary anymore. Those words drag me down into the pits of misery, and there is never any sense of relief when I revisit my past errors. Life is much too short for the torture of regret. Determine to make the best decisions from here on out, and you can go on with your life without regretting a single thing you do.
Learn more about this author, Cheryl Gregory.
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No
"No regrets," I hear people say that all the time. Michael Earley said "Live life with no regrets." It's the easiest thing in the world to say, but the hardest thing to do. I regret every rash decision I've made out of fear. I regret every impulsive thing I've ever said to hurt someone. I regret ending a relationship because I was so scared to get close to another person again.
The people who live life with no regrets aren't people like me. They're the kind of people who know what they're feeling and thinking all the time. They're people who aren't scared of love. They're people who are strong enough to learn from the past and ready to move on to a brighter future. I carry my past with me. It acts as a crutch of excuses. When I'm standing on the sidelines of a relationship, it's so easy for me to see why I do the things that I do. I pull away because I don't want to be trapped or manipulated. I act indifferent; because I'm scared to need another person. I burn the bridge, because in my mind, I don't believe another person can really love me for who I am.
I do a lot of soul searching; but I might as well be outside counting blades of grass for all the good it's done me. I understand myself to an extent when I'm on the sidelines of a relationship, or when I'm out of the game completely. Everything changes when I'm with someone; rather, when I was with him. He was the man I could see myself marrying. I can still see myself marrying him.
Before we started dating I warned him about me. I explained to him that, I am like the Smithsonian. In the museum, they have standard security defenses all throughout the museum. In certain parts of the museum, they have extra security, for very important exhibits. Being in a relationship with me is sort of like trying to get passed the laser alarms you see in the movies. He got too close to the important exhibit and my laser beams went off in the form of me turning into a raving maniac over a stupid political argument. And then the museum shut down completely for months. I didn't feel anything for months. It's impossible for a person to go on forever not feeling anything, so after a while I started to soften up again. It was then that I realized the mistake that I had made. I regret the things I didn't see back then. I was pulling away from a person I could share anything and everything with. The one man in the world that made me feel comfortable being myself, cared for, and protected. On top of all that, I've never had more fun with a man in my life.
So what's a girl to do? I wanted to reform my ways. I wanted to change so that I could be the woman that he deserved. He's a stronger person than me, and by that time he had moved on. It's hard to wait for a person like me. Perhaps it's an idealistic hope, but after what I put him through, I'm waiting for him; even though he may never come. I think I owe him at least that, because now I see, that he did love me for who I am. And I do love him for who he is. I promise myself to never let pride or fear get in the way of love again. I may not be able to relate to Michael Earley's "no regrets," but I think I can live by the wise words of John Lennon "All you need is love." If that's true, and I think it is, then I will sacrifice all my defenses.
Learn more about this author, Tricia Dent.
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