What is Regret?

From my experience, regret comes in two forms: regretting doing something you wish you hadn’t done, and regretting not doing something you wish you would have done. While both of these types of regret may leave you with a feeling of remorse or guilt, one of these types of regret may haunt you for longer than the other. Alice Eve, known for her most recent role in Star Trek Into Darkness, once said: “Rarely do you regret an action, it’s inaction that you regret.” I found this particular outlook to be interesting. If you think back on the things you’ve done in your life, do you find more regret from the things you have done or from the things which you wish you would have done?

If you look at some of the most successful people throughout history, you will notice a unique trend. These people weren’t afraid to fail. Too many people go through their entire lives without truly living. The feeling of not knowing, the feeling of adrenaline coursing through your veins, these are the moments you should live for. Put yourself in the position to achieve your wildest dreams. I’d be lying to you if I said everything was always going to work out in your favor. That’s not the way life works. Sometimes things are going to go wrong, sometimes things will go terribly wrong…but we learn from these situations and poorly made decisions. In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take.

So go. Take the risks you think are worth taking. Live life to the fullest, and don’t look back. If you don’t, someone else might just end up living the life you wish you would have lived.