Do You Have Any Regrets In Life?

[Bunnylady54]

I regret not going to university. Also regret not seeing some of my parents’ friends ( also mine) more often before they died to thank them for what they gave to DD. I regret putting up with DH when he was struggling with lack of money & took it out on me & DD ( verbally & emotionally abusive), although all has turned out well. I regret not meeting DH earlier as we couldn’t conceive & ended up adopting. I regret quitting karate but had no choice as I was injured. Still trying to decide whether to take it up again or go down a difficult fitness route. Regret not talking to a friend about where things went wrong because now I have lost that friendship.

I'm not sure it is helpful , looking back and regretting. I would just try and be mindful of things in the future , to make sure they du not result in regret , if you see what I mean.

Things are what they are and were what they were. You can't change the past.

I’ve been feeling somewhat regretful recently - reflecting on many things and considering what I might have done differently. I am looking at how I really feel about certain things (I.e. not rationalising or brushing aside) and really thinking about the sort of life I want to live. Although uncomfortable, I think such periods of reflection are useful in recalibrating everything and checking in with the direction you’re going. It can help motivate growth.

So many regrets but there was never any way of me manifesting them at the time. You don’t know what you don’t know iyswim. I was clever enough to go to uni but had no idea how to get there, was told after alevels (only did them because a teacher told me I should) that I’d had enough time fannying about at school, time to get a job, was thrown out several times by addicted mum, could have gone travelling but was always told I was too stupid and would get murdered, could have moved away from it all and sorted myself out as I was paying mum more in rent than a private let.

So it all boils down to one thing, I regret not going NC with my mum sooner, and I regret not realising I was emotionally abused and neglected and stopped blaming myself and looked for help sooner!

And I’ve tried everyday to do the things I always wanted. Can’t go back but can always go forward!

Can’t go back but can always go forward!

@IamPickleRick 👌

I'm very happy with where I am now in life so if anything from the past was changed then I might not be where I am now, iyswim? So while there are things I could have done "better", I don't have regrets. Maybe the one thing I wish I had learned sooner was that I didn't need a partner to make me happy! It would have saved me a lot of wasted time!

I do regret not leaving ExH sooner. I made the mistake of 'staying together for the kids' but then he cheated so I kicked him out. Wish I'd done it much sooner.

I've made a lot of mistakes in my life and made many poor choices. But yes, you can't go back but you can go forward.

I wish I hadn't cared quite so much what people thought of me when I was younger as this led to bad decisions. However, a lot of this was a result of being unpopular and disliked.

I definitely regret some of my behaviour in friendships e.g.being selfish and causing drama.

I am trying to make up for it in middle life by being as kind and helpful to others as I can.

I may have made some bad choices in the past and I've made plenty of mistakes but I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.
I'm really happy at this point in my life so those mistakes and bad choices have eventually led me to where I am now.

I worked my arse off at a rather rough state school, and received a scholarship to a excellent private 6th form.

Met a much older man who I believed I was in love with, who moved me down the country and convinced me to give it all up.

He died a month later, I was 17.

I can never forgive myself, and often wonder what uni I would’ve went to, what career I could’ve had.

In tears now. Wish I knew how to resolve this regret.

I have no regrets.

Maybe in hindsight some decisions I have made where not always right. Or things could have gone better with a bit more patience.

But it's all in the past and I can't change it anyway. So why pondering?

That is very sad Prinstress. It's not too late to go to uni, you can get a loan up until the age of 60. You can get it for the OU too if you can't go to a physical uni.

I have made so many mistakes, mostly financial and not taking advantage of career openings . The recession 10 years ago nearly wiped us out and I've had poor health so not recovered our position.I'm very worried about being poor in old age and not being able to help the DC as intended. All that hard work came to nowt. But I agree, you can only go forward. I have a roof over my head and food in my belly, better than many and more than my ancestors (I'm pretty sure)

Honestly, I regret everything I’ve ever done. I’ve made a balls up of life.

I wish I could go back and just do the opposite of everything I’ve ever done.

"I regret not meeting DH earlier as we couldn’t conceive & ended up adopting."

I'm surprised no-one has picked up on the above. Do you regret adopting OP? It's the way you say "ended up" as if it is just a poor alternative to having biological children.

I regret not getting a brace in my teens when I was told I’d need one.

I regret nothing. I accept I am where I am and have made a life I love with people who love me. I’ve had hardships and some aspects of my life aren’t easy but I am the sum of what I have been through.

I have a lovely Irish holiday friend..we meet up a couple of times a year in Tenerife

He’s got spinal stenosis so has to use a wheelchair to get around quite a bit but at 85 he’s amazingAnd been widoweRed about 20 Years
He said to me..I never allow myself to get sad

I think that speaks volumes.

I regret spending up so much time and headspace on work. Trying to address that now though and expecting less of myself in order to better balance things.

Regret is an important emotion. Its worth analysing why you feel regret. It is something you own or was it out of your control? What aspects do you regret? What do you want to do with it...is there something related that might fit better with here and now but fulfils the same desire?

I regret marrying most recent XH. It's hard to think of any positive effect he brought to my life, and I spent years trying to make him happy with very limited success.

There were opportunities of various kinds that I didn't take, but those were my choices and not necessarily the wrong ones.

I regret a lot of things i have done and haven't done. I sometimes wonder if another "me" is living my perfect parallel life. But fuck it, I am where I am and for my own sanity, I am able to be philosophical and grateful most of the time, even if I wish things were very different.

I meant different, not difficult

kenzobaby I didn’t mean it to come out quite like that. Actually we do sometimes say that it worked out for the best because if I had conceived naturally, then we wouldn’t have our amazing DD. Very mixed emotions. I had 2 miscarriages & think about the children we might have had every day whilst equally being grateful for the child we do have

Leaving university before I graduated (now doing ou). Giving up my last job to be a sahp (love my kids just hate being at home). Getting into debt and not buying a house.