HOW TO ARCHIVE YOUR REGRETS
By: Monalisa Roy
Tags: Regret, Sad, Adulthood, Life Lessons, Beyourself

Dear 16 year old me,

You keep telling yourself,

“I never should have done this”

“I wish I knew it earlier”

“I wish I could do it differently”

Regrets. Regrets. Regrets

You have regretted things every time you made a mistake. You keep thinking that you could have done it better. But you couldn’t have. It happened exactly the way it should. You keep filling your mind with this nonstop chatter of how you could have done better. But it doesn’t work that way, sweetheart!

The thing about regrets is that it was meant to happen. We only regret things that felt right at the time or at that moment. We regret it now because it didn’t work out quite the way we expected it to. But that’s okay. If you are regretting something and feeling stupid, that’s valid. We all feel that way. We all make mistakes. We all do things we know we shouldn’t have done.

The real question that you need to ask yourself: How do I move past it? How do I stop visiting that memory and just move forward with my life?

The answer: Well, decide. Decide that you do not want to live this way, with regrets and mistakes. Decide that you will do better.

Here are my tips on how to archive your regrets, love!

Recognize

Recognizing your mistakes is the biggest task at hand. If you know that you shouldn’t have spoken to your friend that way then keep a note. Don’t do it a second time. It comes with a lot of challenges. I mean seriously, telling yourself that you were wrong. Yeah, well sometimes you just have to accept the fact that you were wrong too. It is not always the other person.

Acceptance

The next step, accept that you made a mistake. Yes, you shouldn’t have behaved that way with your mother. Or you should have gone out with that guy while you had the chance because he was great and you failed to realize that. That’s fine. Again we all make mistakes. Let’s not do it a second time. Acceptance of our mistakes is a test. A test we all must pass because otherwise you are trapped in the bottomless pit of regret and self-doubt.

Letting go

Ah…the hard part. Letting go. But consider this, the moment you let go of that anger, that hurt, that expectation you are free. You need to decide. Will you let your regrets control your life? Is this how you want to live? Do it. Decide. And then take the necessary steps to ensure that it doesn’t control your mind. I know it will be hard but we all want to live a good life. What’s the point of holding onto something that doesn’t serve our purpose or won’t help us in any way?

Ask yourself: Is this how I want to spend the rest of my life?

Your answer is what you choose.

Living a life of the highest value is what we all strive for. But how many of us actually choose to work for it. It’s not easy. To live a life of the highest value is about constantly working on ourselves to do better and be better. And so don’t wait for a New Year or a New Month to start being better, start now. The results will show.

From the 23-Year-Old Me.

Author Bio

Monalisa is a lifestyle blogger and an Influencer. She has helped a lot of people through her articles on self-improvement. She loves reading books and exploring new places. She believes that your mind is the greatest tool you will ever need and it continues to be her secret to success. She also has a YouTube channel for her readers where she discusses life and all its lessons. You can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for her lifestyle updates