How do you think you would go about making life decisions if regret were
a person who had an agenda and could actually tell you what it is?
Think about that for a minute. If regret could talk to you about what it
really does to you when you make decisions you wish you could change,
do you think you would try to make better, healthier decisions so you
could avoid it in the future? Would you be as true to yourself as
possible, nicer to people, more prudent in your moves?
I'm speaking more so of the choices you make when you're pondering
options, and there's that part of you that knows deeeeep down that you
should go Route A, but Route B sounds better, seems easier, may get you
what or where you want faster, etc., but probably isn't the wisest
choice. I'm not talking about when you make a choice and you truly have
no idea that it's gonna turn out bad or that you shouldn't do it.
Sometimes, we do things based on limited knowledge and information, and
we don't know of any other options so we go with what we think is right,
and it turns into a "thing" that we wish we had known all the
ramifications of. I'm also not talking about doing something completely
logical that turns into a "thing" because of someone else's actions,
which you can't control.
For example, a friend was telling me that when she was in college
and trying to get into business school, she had a slew of tests coming
up that she needed to pass in order for that to happen. Long story
short, she had a ton of notes and books, and she left her backpack in a
car, and someone broke into the car and stole it. She failed all her
classes because she didn't have her notes or books. She didn't get into
that school. She felt like a failure because of it, and said it was one
of her biggest regrets. I told her she didn't do anything to regret.
Someone stole her bag out of a car. People leave stuff in cars all the
time. The car was locked. It's not like she carelessly left it in a cafe
or in a store or out in the streets somewhere. Was it devastating?
Sure. But there wasn't anything she could do about that person's
actions.
I'm talking about the stuff you do that involves the dark side of your
ego, the side that convinces you to do things that aren't good for you
or others, and when it's all said and done, you kick yourself for the
next decade because it turned into a fiasco that you may not be able to
fix.
So, back to my question: What do you think you would do if regret could
talk to you? Well, I happen to know exactly what it would say (sort of,
hee hee). I'm in a writing group, and we have daily writing prompts. Day
five of this month was to write about regret as if it had human
qualities. I chose to write a poem in first person, from Regret's point
of view, and I'd like to share it with you right here.
I hope you heed the message. I had no idea what I was gonna write, but
as I took on the challenge, I realized I was coming up with what felt
like a pretty accurate description of how regret takes over. The poem is
even making me think about how I'll proceed with decisions in the
future.
I'd love to hear your take on it and how it made you feel. As always, I
hope you enjoy the work, and I hope it helps you advance in your life in
some way.
For information about my life consulting services, please visit www.honorthespirit.com.
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