Week 42 - "I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done" - Lucille Ball
Lately, I've been experimenting with an intriguing concept: living life like I won’t regret anything. I understand this mindset is overly optimistic and not entirely realistic, but it’s been interesting to see how it’s changed the way I approach things.
Let me clarify that I believe that living a life completely devoid of regrets is impossible. Our lives are filled with infinite uncertainties and factors beyond our control, which forces us to make choices that seem right at the moment but are wrong in actuality. Yet, I’d argue that such decisions can’t be called true regrets. When you made those choices, you acted on the best information available to you at the time. This means that even with hindsight, without the additional knowledge you gained later, you would likely make the same choices.
From my perspective, true regret stems from actions taken or not taken due to fear.
I think that’s why telling myself I won’t regret anything has allowed me to do things I once would have had to think so much about. The idea that regardless of an outcome, I won’t have any regrets has made me so much more open to putting myself out there and taking risks.
I don’t know if it’s a mindset for everyone, and I don’t even know how long I’ll continue to have it, but I do know that inaction born from apprehension is something we should all be avoiding. Risk isn’t for everyone, but the biggest risk of all is not taking any.
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