Howto: Regret Proof Your Life

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Another article from this month's O magazine that I really loved (sorry, no I don't work for Oprah, I just enjoyed this month's topics very much). I hope you'll check out this article by Martha Beck. I really like everything I've seen of her writing. A lot of the principles here are nothing new to people on these boards, but she has a good style and really practicle advice too:

Stop Regretting Decisions — Martha Beck's Plan to Let Go of Regret

[Dannyboy1]

Regret, worry, anger... all symptoms of the insanity of living in the past or future instead of the now.

[uberinquisitive]

Great link!

My fave part:

Think of every choice in terms of "What would thrill and delight me?" rather than "What will keep my fear—or the events, people, and things I fear—at bay?"

...The path toward what you love may be fraught with uneasiness, anxiety, outright terror.

The pound dog will tug at your heart, but worry about upkeep will push away the first sparks of love and leave you without a four-footed friend.

You'll long for success but dread the risks necessary to earn it.

Your impulse to champion the oppressed might compete with panic for your own sorry hide.

That's when you can call on regret—not as a burden that you still have to bear but as a motivator that can forcefully remind you not to make choices that will feel awful in retrospect....convinced by experience that nothing based on fear—but everything based on love—is worth doing.