by Teresa Brouwer

Created on: November 16, 2008   Last Updated: January 02, 2009

To have regrets is like saying that the path that was chosen for us is wrong. We all make mistakes, we don't always choose the right decisions in our lives, but those choices is what makes us who we are. When alcoholics become recovering alcoholics only to sponsor someone in AA, to me, is their path in life to help others. Why have regrets of our downfalls and decisions when they only make us stronger?

However, one must evaluate what they are regretting. Regrets can be what we've done or what we haven't accomplished yet. If you didn't accomplish something - does that call for a regret? Or does it simply mean it's not meant to be or just not that time yet? Is it possible to live without regrets? Yes. I believe that we all have "doubts" and we might be "unsure" about our choices, but we certainly can live without regrets.

According to the bible, we are all sinners. We are born sinners. We make mistakes and we are not perfect. We live life from birth to adulthood only to learn the facts of life, discovering who we are, and we grow and build our strengths from the choices we make. I have done a lot in my life that others may not think is appropriate. I was pregnant at eighteen-years-old and I lived with my boyfriend (now husband) with my three kids. Do I have regrets from these choices? No, not at all. Being pregnant at a young age and facing life full force made me who I am today.

As someone who was once in an abusive relationship and pregnant at eighteen-years-old, I have written for e-zines on women abuse and teen pregnancy. I have helped thousands of women and teens all over the world because of my choices in life. In addition, I designed FREE online workshops for women abuse and mother and daughter relationships. To have regrets in life keeps us from helping others, and it shows a lack of believing in ourselves and the choices we make. In my opinion, I believe that regrets add physical and mental strain to a person.

Living without regrets and having peace within oneself comes from forgiveness. Depending on your religious beliefs, living without regrets is realizing that God or your higher power has a plan for you. Yes, we make our own choices, but God forgives and he/she has a chosen path for us. We need to embrace our choices, good or bad, and learn from them.

Ingrid Bergman reminds us, "I have no regrets. I wouldn't have lived my life the way I did if I was going to worry about what people were going to say."

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