Transform your regret into strength in 3 simple steps
It’s 2 am, and you’re lying in bed staring at the ceiling. Random thoughts surface in your mind, and suddenly you find yourself hiding under a blanket, trying to push aside your regrets from back in fifth grade. Regret can be a powerful weapon. It can either cause destruction to your daily life or serve as an energy source to propel you forward. It’s up to you to decide what you’ll do with regret.
The book, The Power of Regret by Daniel H. Pink teaches us how regret can increase our productivity, help us find purpose, and lead us to a more meaningful future.
Here are three steps to transform regret into a positive catalyst:
1. Undo it
The first step to transforming regret is to undo it. Reconnect with that old friend. Make that apology you owed for years. Instead of thinking about what you could’ve done differently, take action now and undo the regret. While not everything can be undone, the key here is to do what you can to make things better now. It’s a hard step, but it’ll stop keeping you up in the middle of the night.
2. Change your perspective
Yes, things turned out the way it is. Even if you take action now, it still won’t change the past. Then what can? Your perspective. Analyze your regrets from a different set of lenses. Start your sentences with “at least…” and notice how everything isn’t as terrible as it seems. You’ll start to breed appreciation and give previously bad experiences a newfound purpose.
3. Analyze & Strategize
Don’t let your regret go to waste. Ask yourself what lessons can you learn from the regret. What can you do to prevent it from ever happening again? Come up with strategies to overcome it. Even though regret can push you forward, there’s no point tripping over the same spot every time.
If you haven’t already made your new year’s resolutions earlier this year, here is a task for you. List out 3 of your biggest regrets. Analyze and learn what you can from it, then transform it into your mid-year resolutions. By achieving these resolutions, you will minimize the unwanted impact and pave the way for a better tomorrow.
To Conclude
Regret is like a bow and arrow. Pulling yourself back and thinking about your regret can actually propel you forward and lead you to a better future. After all, you can’t shoot an arrow without pulling it back first. Rather than letting regret take over your life, it’s time to take control of regret and move forward again.