How many of us have wish we could go back in time and do something in our life completely different? Sometimes when experiencing regret from our actions, we get caught up in the “if only” and we would love to have a time machine to do things the way we now know would be best for us.
But life doesn’t work that way and it’s not supposed to. Feeling regret, no matter how painful, has a purpose. It’s there to show us the shadow parts of ourselves and the subconscious behaviors that we need to examine in order to heal. It’s there to take us from the person who thought they knew better, to the one that actually does.
Whatever situation we are regretting may have done some damage to our relationships, finances, health or career and we didn’t have any idea at the time of the consequences. However, wisdom is always gained in these agonizing times if we choose to see things from a higher perspective.
The steps necessary to recover from choices or actions we regret such as: paying our debts, making amends to someone we hurt, restoring our health, admitting our fault and finally being honest with ourselves are all humbling and require vulnerability. The penalties of our actions can be a tough pill to swallow, but the lesson learned is what changes us for the better.
Most importantly, in the process of coming correct and all of the self-honesty, transformation happens. We recognize what we could have done differently but we also have the opportunity to become more self-aware and conscious instead of operating on automatic pilot with behaviors that no longer serve us… behaviors that probably never did.
Self- awareness is key to healing and stopping the unhealthy actions and decisions that cause the pain of regret. We can use this pain as a catalyst for change and growth towards a more successful future and a happier life.
