No one deserves to live with regret but a lot people believe they don't have control over whether they do or not. This couldn't be further from the truth. You don't have to die with regret.

1. http://www.wiggmanscoaching.com/personal-development-power-hour-living-with-regret/ June 6, 2013
Personal Development Power Hour – Living With Regret
Welcome to Personal Development Power Hour 05/16/2013.
The long weekend is here for us in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and as everyone
from Saskatchewan knows it is time to head out to the “lake”. Which lake you
non-Saskatchewan people ask? Doesn’t matter because no one ever says. They
just simply state that they are heading to the lake and leave it at that. Yep, May
long weekend turns this lake laden province into a ghost town.
With the lake comes time to sit back and reflect on your personal development.
This weekend we are going to explore our regrets and then kick them to the curb.
Living With Regret – No Thanks
I will be upfront and let you know that the title of this post is a bit misleading.
The reason I say that is because I do not want anyone to live with regret. Actually
I am going to ask that you ensure you do not live a life full of regret. Please, don’t
do that.
So many people are weighted down with regrets and they dwell on them everyday
right up to their deathbed. Have you ever seen the look of regret on a dying
person’s face? Their eyes tell the story of all the things they wish they did, could
have done or should have tried to do.
It is both a chilling and enlightening moment for those saying goodbye. Everyone
swears they won’t go out like that and yet almost all of them will. That is if they
don’t take control of their regrets today. It takes a great deal of personal
development to be at peace with your past and be able to let go of your coulda,
shoulda and woulda’s.
Regret has no place in the life of your dreams.
The Good of Regret
Look, you could spend the rest of your days regretting what you did yesterday but
where do you honestly think that would take you? To a place of more regrets
that’s where. You get what you think about most of the time so now is a great
time to reflect on where you are applying your regrets to your current life.
So what good can come from regret? As much as you want. With every

2. experience where regret is present there is a lesson you learned. The secret to
using regret for good is what you chose to with that lesson. Did you use it to make
sure you didn’t repeat the same mistake over again or just push it aside? Let’s
look at some situations where good could come from regret if you chose to use
what you learn.
Do you regret the first time you hopped into bed with someone? Maybe but it
taught you to respect yourself, your body and to set some personal standards or
it didn’t. You could regret losing your first time in the back of a Pinto but it does
nothing but affect future intimate relationships. it happened, you learned and now
move on.
Do you regret being married to the wrong person and the fact you had kids with
them? Do you not want those kids anymore? I doubt it. Do not look at the kids and
only see your ex. Let them move past that and only see the miracle they are. The
only way to do that is to accept that yes the person you had them with is not the
one you love anymore but without them you wouldn’t be blessed with the children
that love you. If you don’t shed the regret then every time you look into your
children’s eyes they will see the regret you have for ever being with their
mom/dad.
These are just two examples of where regrets can lie. There are careers, finances
and family. The important part of regrets is realizing how they can control you.
Do you regret all the great things that your life experiences provided you? I hope
not because they are what helped you discover all that you wanted to be in life
and everything you didn’t.
We all make mistakes but out of those mistakes come the awesome life changing
benefits, if you want there to be.
Letting Go
Letting go of regret can be difficult but is a must to allow you to be free to live.
You can rid yourself of regret by no longer beating yourself up over the decisions
you made. We are our own worst critic and are harder on ourselves than anyone
else.
Part of letting go is also taking a hard look at the friendships you continue to
maintain. You were what you were in the past but you won’t be able to move
forward if you keep friends around you that like to bring it up all the time. If they
can’t allow you to move past it or they themselves are still living it, they need to
go.

3. Don’t get me wrong, regretting something in the moment does provide you a
valuable lesson but apply that lesson and then move on. Don’t dwell on what you
should have done or wished you had said and don’t let your friends do it either.
Take a stand for what it is you want to become.
So identify those regrets, acknowledge and then dump them on their butts.
Take Action Request:
So as you enjoy your long weekend sitting around a campfire or tanning at the
lake just take a moment to reflect on all the great things that came out of all
those regrets and realize that without those life experiences you wouldn’t be who
you are today. If you want to dive in deeper take each thing you regret and list
what you have learned from it. Then ask yourself did you action what you learned?
Your Life Your Choice Your Design
Darrin Wiggins
“The mistakes I’ve made are dead to me. But I can’t take back the
things I never did.” – Jonathan Safran Foer

4. This photo of Saskatchewan is courtesy of TripAdvisor