No Regrets?

"Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did." ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

I have never understood when people claim to have no regrets in their lives. There are lots of quotes, songs, and I've even heard people in my own life talk about how they have no regrets in their lives. I can't relate.

Don't get me wrong, my life is great--I've been able to experience so many things, go so many places, and meet so many people--far more than anyone deserves. But I there are definitely things I regret.

A few examples here--mind you, there are a lot of things that I think are too meaningful to share on the blog, so I generally go with the lighter things to make my point. There are plenty of "I wish I would have said...." or "I wish I would have seen that person one more time...." type regrets that are much more serious than the blog. So let's keep this upbeat!


I wish I had gone on a study abroad trip in college. OSU offered SO many options---from semesters to just two week trips to places all over the globe. I never went. I thought it was too expensive and I didn't have time. Now that I have been able to travel overseas, I kick myself for missing that opportunity.

Another college regret is that I never did a wild and crazy Spring Break trip. Now, mind you, I'm not talking something trashy that would be on late night tv here, but just going to the beach or somewhere fun with my friends and letting loose for a few days. Instead, I usually went home for Spring Break to see the family (not something I regret, mind you family). My senior year College Roomie, Cousin Whitney and I went to D.C. and Virginia to look at law schools. Lots of fun--but not the typical college spring break experience that might have been really fun.

Like the quote above explains, it's much more common to regret not things that you did, but things you didn't do. I doubt many people lay on their death bed and think about the things they wish they could take back. Far more common must be wishing that they had done something fun or expensive or crazy or meaningful for them.

I think the regrets in my life I regret have taught me something. When you have an opportunity to go overseas for two weeks and wonder around Europe, take it. When you can buy tickets and jump on a plane 24 hours before the flight to go see your friends, do it. Without realizing some of my regrets, I don't that I would have taken full advantage of these experiences.

So I don't buy the "no regrets" thing. I think the key to it is not that we should have no regrets, but instead we should not dwell on the regrets we have, but learn from them instead. If we realize that we regret doing or not doing something, so long as we learn from it, then the regret serves a purpose. If, instead, we go around insisting that we didn't want to do that thing anyway, or we would have done it the same all over again, we don't improve our lives. We risk falling into a pattern of repeated regrets.


I say we should think about the things we regret. And vow not to do let them happen again. And go live our lives. It's never too late for that crazy spring break trip you know!