What does this mean? Seek the path of least regret. It is one of the concepts my clients and I came up with over our work together, and it is powerful.
Today, we will talk about regret. Regret is an emotion that can be felt somatically—it is felt in the body and can really make us feel unwell in many ways.
Regretful emotions can be complex, encompassing possible remorse for a choice, action, or outcome of our decisions or behavior. I have seen it hold people I have worked with in patterns of depression and anxiety for years.
With awareness and support, there is hope and light to be found, so let’s get on with healing from understanding, a common feeling for many.
One of the best ways to remedy regret is self-forgiveness and a decision to learn from the experience that we regret. This means making peace with our intentions at the time and gathering all we can from the emotion of regret. Then, making the decision not to live in regret anymore. Try thinking of the emotion of regret as a teacher, and once the lesson is learned, you may go on to new thoughts and feelings. This is where more inner peace and freedom may be found.
Secondly, try to prevent future regret and get into a place of empowerment and deep decision-making. Know that we will learn from our mistakes and that we can only truly control our intentions (usually from a good place, by the way). But try as often as you can to slow down, make intentional decisions, and follow your voice, the one that you are learning to listen to along the way.
Life can be beautiful again, so let your regret go like a leaf in the river.
