Our Present Action Overrides Regret!
“Regret of neglected opportunity is the worst hell
that a living soul can inhabit. ”
Each day our lives offer us unlimited opportunities to be happy, to do the right thing, to make a difference, to create beauty, to heal a wound, to lift up another, to express unconditional love.
The fulfillment of a Life lived in harmony and self-alignment is available to all of us. Yet at times we choose to ignore our heart’s calling. We blindly turn away from heeding our intuitive messages that urge us to clarify and honor our path.
It has been said that regret is “self-inflicted” guilt: an undermining emotion with its roots in self-condemnation. We experience regret each time we wish we’d made a different decision regarding our behavior in our past.
Regret can create a loop in our lives where we internally suffer the consequences of that choice, over and over again.
Seeds of regret are planted in our consciousness when we deny the truth of who we are. When we respond to an opportunity from the limitations of our ego rather than from the expansiveness of our heart, we nurture our regret!
Do you have a habit of procrastinating until an opportunity is lost? Do you then secretly or perhaps blatantly, beat yourself up about it?
Do you hesitate just long enough so as to eliminate the need to decide? Do you then blame yourself for being weak or others for being unfair?
Do you stockpile those lost opportunities to fuel your resentment and regret?
In her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing, author Bronnie Ware shares what she learned about regrets while offering palliative care to hundreds of people.
Her Life was transformed by the collective grief and guilt of those who shared what they wish they’d done differently during their Life. Inevitably, all of our lives come to a place where - opportunities for change - are no longer offered.
In a way, Bronnie Ware’s transformation can be the ultimate wake up call for us! We are not required to carry our regrets with us to the grave. We can change the trajectory and quality of our Life NOW by taking action to dismantle our regrets.
Here are the 5 most common regrets that were shared in end of Life reflection:
I wish I had the courage to live a Life true to myself, not the Life others expected of me.
Is there an aspect of your Life where you are living out of alignment with yourself?
What belief do you have that keeps you from changing that?
What could it mean to you to find the courage to initiate a truer direction?
I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
What belief do you have about being successful?
What sacrifices have you been suffering because of that belief?
If you let go of needing to work so hard, what might fill your Life instead?
I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
What happens to the energies of the feelings that you suppress?
If you shared your feelings truthfully, how could your Life be different?
Imagine the freedom you could experience by honoring how you feel.
I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Take a moment to review the friends who’ve made a difference in your Life.
How have you continued to cultivate those valued relationships?
Who could you reach out to today to rekindle that connection?
I wish I had let myself be happier.
What do you believe about being deserving?
Could you forgive yourself for the mistakes and wrongdoings you believe you have committed?
Just for today, could you give yourself permission to be happier?
Dismantling the regrets of our past is the first step to choosing a more fulfilling Life for ourselves. Consciously living in the present empowers our authentic and courageous response to each opportunity Life offers us!
PONDER THIS
What action could you take today to disband one regret
that you’ve been harboring?
Taking responsibility for changing your Life is a powerful courageous decision! Learning how to make choices to honor you and your happiness is a practice, a new skill. I have partnered with others for over 35 years to teach, guide, and support them in this transformational process. If you’re ready to make changes in your Life, Click here to schedule a 30 min consultation to see how I might support you with that.