Saturday, December 31, 2011

Advice on Living with Regret

By Kathryn Schulz, who is featured on Huff Press Best of Ted 2011.

The end of a year brings out regrets in many of us. So what do people mostly regret statistically? The answer: education, career, romance, parenting, self, finances, family, health, friends, spirituality, community

What are the Characteristic Emotional Components of Regret
  • Denial – Make it go away!
  • Bewilderment – How could I have done that?
  • Punishment – I could kick myself!
  • Preservation – Make it go away!
How might we Make Peace with our RegretsHow can we learn to live with regret?
  •  Taking comfort in the its universality
  •  Laugh at ourselves
  •  The passage of time
 Schulz advices us, "Know that we should feel pain when things go wrong."

“Learn to love the flawed imperfect things we create and forgive ourselves for creating them. . . . regret doesn’t remind us that we did badly; it reminds us that we can do better.” - Kathryn Schulz