Welcome to the fourth day of the 2019 Love Blog Challenge! Today’s prompt is Regret. Check out the announcement post for all the prompts and rules this month. You can still join the link-up for yesterday’s topic, Valentine’s Day.
Do you want to live a life without regrets? I know I do! But learning how to live a life with no regrets is easier said than done.
To be honest, I’ve thought a lot about regret over the last month. It’s one of the few Love Blog Challenge prompts that challenges me the most. Obviously I came up with the topic Regret for today, and part of me has regretted it ever since!
But reflecting on the past can be a good exercise. So can imagining the future I want.
Both help me realize just how I can live a life with no regrets.
It’s all about making the right choices right now, in the present.
Feeling regret is generally about one of two things. You might regret doing something bad. You might regret not doing something good. That’s a simplistic overview, but regrets generally fall into those two categories!
So how do we live a life with no regrets?
1) Recognize that we all make mistakes.
No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. Instead of regretting a past mistake, accept it as one of the growing pains of life.
2) Appreciate the life lesson, even if you learned it the hard way.
Yes, we all make mistakes, but we don’t all learn from them. Did you learn from your past mistake? Did it shape who you are today? Have you avoided making the same mistake, or even helped others avoid making the same mistake? Appreciate the life lesson, and move on from your past mistake.
3) Forgive yourself.
Learn to forgive yourself. This is hard for me. One of the reasons I’m still sick today is that I worked myself too hard back in 2013, and I didn’t take the time to see a doctor. But beating myself up about the past won’t change the present. All I can do is forgive myself and strive not to repeat the mistakes of my past.
4) Accept that you did the best you could at the time.
Hindsight is 20-20. It’s easy for me to judge my decisions back in 2013, but honestly, I thought I was doing the right thing, for my health! Don’t judge yourself for making a poor decision in the past, especially when the past you didn’t know everything the present you does. Most of us are just doing are best from day to day. Sometimes our best ends up being wrong. That’s just the way life is.
5) Celebrate the person you are today.
Look at you! Look at where you are today, how far you’ve come since yesterday. We all hit a few bumps on the road of life. What matters is that you’re still here. You’re still doing your best. You wouldn’t be the person you are today without your past, no matter how messy.
6) Strive to be the best version of yourself.
You do you. When I was in a pageant as a teenager, the motto was Be Your Best Self. Life isn’t a competition with everyone else. Just strive to be who you are, to follow your own path, and to work on your own life. The world doesn’t need another Belle Brita–the world needs more authentic people, living their best lives without regrets.
7) Take care of your health and overall well-being.
You can’t help anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself first. Figure out your own healthy priorities, and add those into your daily or weekly routine. Life is more than just looking a certain way or following a certain trendy diet or exercise regime. Developing healthy habits takes time, so accept any setbacks along the way as temporary, and then keep going!
Related: Ditch Your Resolutions (Learn to Set Intentions Instead!)
8) Practice gratitude.
Practice gratitude for all the good things already in your life. This will help you focus on living in the present instead of envying everything you don’t have. Plus, feeling grateful for your current possessions can help prevent impulse buys that you might later regret!
9) Take calculated risks.
Taking risks in life can be good–if you can afford to fail. Yes, apply for your dream job! Just don’t quit your crappy job if you have no savings and no other job prospects. Yes, move to a new city–but don’t go into debt for it, especially if that new city has no support network for you.
Related: 20 Life-Changing Things to Do in Your 20s
10) Choose your own definition of success.
There’s more than one way to be successful in life. Sometimes I find myself comparing my little blog to big blogs, but the truth is, I’m not willing to sacrifice my health to reach that level. (And I know the “hustle” often involves not sleeping enough and not eating right). Marriage isn’t the only path to meaningful relationships. Money isn’t the only measure of a successful career.
11) Seek adventure.
Seek adventure your own way. This could be traveling, or volunteering, or exploring your own neighborhood, or playing make-believe with your kids, or writing creative stories, or so many different things! Just like there’s more than one path to success, there’s also more than one adventure in life.
12) Pursue contentment.
The key to happiness is finding contentment in your day-to-day life. Every day doesn’t need to be a roller coaster of excitement. If you can fall asleep feeling good about your day, that’s usually enough.
13) Prioritize people over things.
Cultivate healthy relationships. Focus on the people who mean the most to you. Possessions matter much less than people. When given the opportunity, prioritize people over things.
14) Practice kindness.
It costs little-to-nothing to be kind. Treat people with kindness and respect. A smile or a gentle word go a long way!
15) Appreciate the journey.
One of my favorite things to say about life is to focus on progress, not perfection. Even when I don’t meet all my monthly goals, I still improve myself every month. Life is about the journey, not the destination. Don’t dwell on your past mistakes–accept them as part of your journey. Don’t focus on everything you haven’t done yet–appreciate what you have done.
Meet Your 2019 Love Blog Challenge Hosts!
Twitter // Instagram // Facebook // Pinterest // Tumblr // Google+ // Bloglovin
Brita Long is the pink and sparkly personality behind the Christian feminist lifestyle blog, Belle Brita. On her blog and social media, you’ll discover more than authentic storytelling–she’s brutally honest about pursuing a fulfilling and joyful life even with Crohn’s Disease and depression.
Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // Bloglovin
Alessia is a lifestyle blogger, entrepreneur and post-graduate student in History from the best borough in London, up and coming Croydon. She’s a bit like Emma Woodhouse (Pemberley Digital version) and just about no longer the most eligible Catholic bachelorette, as she has found her Mr Knightley in sunny Derbyshire.
Twitter // Instagram // Facebook // Pinterest // Bloglovin
Laura is a big dreamer, full time marketing manager, blogger, and part-time artist. Like many of us, she spent part of her life struggling with frustrations on a daily basis and just all around felt drained and uninspired… that was her. She decided to change all that one morning. Now Laura lives in the blogging world because she believes the buzz about self-care and self-love needs to be heard. She aspires to inspire people in their everyday lives and help them to live towards their dreams and making the most out of every day by sharing her own experiences and stories.
Loading InLinkz ...
How do you live a life with no regrets? What do you think of my tips? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
