I’m slowly learning how to let go of the past instead of replaying all the moments I would like to go back in time and change or the times I wish I could rewind to make a different choice. I’m slowly learning that nothing will change what has already happened, nothing will change the past so there’s no point in even thinking about it, there’s no point in beating myself up over the things I said and done that I can’t undo. 

I’m slowly learning that even the things I regret taught me something valuable, every mistake was a lesson, every bad decision taught me something about myself or about others and every wrong choice was exactly what I needed to learn how to make the right one.

I’m slowly learning that with regret comes valuable lessons like forgiveness; forgiving yourself before anyone else. Like understanding; learning not to judge someone when you haven’t been in their shoes and last but not least it taught me how to move on, how to start over, how to put all those dark and negative thoughts and emotions behind me and move forward. I’m slowly learning that maybe regrets are not so bad after all. 

I’m slowly learning that my regrets forced me to work on my flaws and myself in order to become a better person. The guilt, the disappointment, the resentment were all like condiments to master the perfect recipe. It’s what I needed to start looking within and figure out where those feelings were coming from and what triggered them in the first place.

I’m slowly learning that my regrets introduced me to parts of myself I didn’t know existed. It taught me how to be kinder, how to be stronger, how to be more understanding and it taught me that I have the power to change or stop whatever isn’t serving me well instead of blaming the world, instead of saying it’s too late to change, instead of trying to live with all the parts of me that I’m not so proud of. I’m slowly learning that regret is one way or another, an answer to one of your problems. If you dig deeper, you’ll find exactly the root of the problem and how to fix it.

I’m slowly learning that living with no regrets doesn’t mean living recklessly or an invitation to make more heedless decisions or uncalculated choices but it’s an invitation to detach from the aftermath of it all, detach from who you were when you made that decision; whether it was a moment of anger, a moment of selfishness, a moment of revenge, a moment where your weakness clouded your wisdom. It’s an invitation to look into what can be done to fix it, and if there’s nothing that can be done then it’s an invitation to forgive and move on.

I’m slowly learning that if you can embrace your regrets and vow to never let yourself get to that point again, then you’re truly learning how to set yourself free, you’re slowly learning how to live with your regrets without letting them diminish or belittle you. I’m slowly learning that it’s not my regrets that define me, it’s how I get over them and how I redeem myself that truly show who I really am.