1. Making Smart Decisions

In the previous article, namely “Five Tips on how to Stop Regretting the past,” we have shown how we can stop regretting our past lives. In this article, we present the how aspect for preventing possible future regrets from happening. We have identified five strategies that can help you avoid possible future regrets.

To avoid feelings of regret from happening, try to make the most of your decisions by making smart decisions. Making smart decisions requires the following:-

• Do not make rushing decisions, and allow yourself to be more self-centered where you need to be. A quick decision can often be the one we regret.
• Try to act based on your thoughts or logic instead of following your feelings.
• Try not to follow other people’s fascination because obsession with another person can also affect your decision-making process, causing you to make choices that you may regret.
• Thus, take your time and focus on what you want and what will work best for you now and in the long run.
• Be confident with your decisions. With more confidence in your choices, you too are unlikely to regret it later. Thus, stand up for what you think.

2. Take a look at the positives and lessons from your disappointments

Be confident in your choice, and you are less likely to ask them later down the line.

There are some positive aspects and lessons in your disappointments. Thus looking at the positive elements and lessons from disappointment is a strategy in fighting possible regrets in the future.

• Despair is a pioneer to regret. When we focus our attention on something that discourages us long enough, we make it hard and make it regret. Thus, for you to live without regrets, tackle your despair right away.
• Quick recognition of lessons learned is vital in the process of avoiding future regrets.
• Think of the lesson as a tool that you can use to make better decisions in the future. Any disappointment can help you avoid future disappointments if you give in, which is something to be thankful for.

3. Treat the symptoms of regrets sooner rather than later

Short-term regrets are better than long-term ones. Thus, early remediation and taking action as soon as possible are essential in preventing short-term pain and becoming long-term sorrow. Treating the symptoms is better than cure as described below:-

• You can avoid the weeks, months, and years of injury by finding a way to improve the situation you find yourself in as soon as it happens.
• It is often easier to do things right away. If you have spoken ill of someone, true forgiveness will now do more for the relationship than that forgiveness for one month.
• If you bought something and now you wish you could not, can you return it and get your money back? It may only be a temporary option, so do it quickly if that is the case.
• Did you miss your best friend’s birthday party and now you feel guilty about it? Plan to see them as soon as possible and turn them into your special occasion.

Remember that “the longer your departure items, the harder it is to make them straight, and so regrets are more likely to form.”

4. Take appropriate and well-considered risks

The guilt we have for not doing something is often the one we hold for the longest. So, to avoid these types of regrets, we must take action, and this step will usually involve an emergency if it means a lot to you emotionally.  

• Avoid the ‘What! What? ‘ In the future, be prepared to answer the what question by taking action.
• Consider the risks carefully before taking them and ensure your safety at all times.
• Don’t go for less than your full potential.

5. Think of the degree of influence that you have on the situation.

• Some regrets include anything we do for ourselves, but others we have very little control over. Here is what we call the levels of influence. The following explains the situation while focussing on the level of power.
• Maybe you relocated to find out that the new company was not in as good a condition as you thought and were given redundant six months later.  Can you know the company’s financial information? Can you predict the economic downturn that led to the company’s complete failure?

Thus, don’t take responsibility or regret something for something you were not in control of at all.

• Take a good look at the situation, and decide if you can make a difference to avoid the pain you are feeling now. Chances are, you could not do anything.
• Do not know how to pass on your regret and not make a new one?