No regrets. It’s a frequently heard catchphrase these days. Ask most anybody between the ages of 12 and 30 if they have any regrets and they will likely tell you the same thing: No regrets. Life’s too short. You only live once. Don’t waste time thinking about what might have been. Live in the moment. No regrets!
I once heard a rather sophisticated explanation in which my friend explained to me that although he had made some mistakes in the past, he felt that his self-in-the-past was always doing the best that he could.
I beg to differ.
I think that not only do we endlessly fall short of doing our best, but an examination of past mistakes–regrets, if you will, aids us in making better choices in the future. I suppose it’s best not to dwell overly on our past mistakes, but I do think we need to address them, admit where we were wrong, why we were wrong, and how we can avoid making more mistakes in the future.
Last summer I stayed at BYU. I did not go home to be with my family. My mom is extremely difficult to live with, and was unwilling to treat me like an adult. I prayed about this decision, but was too impatient to do a very thorough job of it, and ultimately just did what I thought was best. It was a pretty good summer, I definetly grew a lot, and I met some of my favorite role models.
But it was the wrong decision and one of the biggest regrets of my life. I should have come home. I could have had an amazing summer with my dad. I didn’t know when I choose to stay at BYU that I wouldn’t have the luxury of having my father for the rest of my life. I didn’t know that it was his last summer. If I had…I would have one less regret. I wish I had studied that decision out in my mind with more thoroughness, had truely prayed until I had a confirmation about my decisions. Because Heavenly Father probably would have sent me home. But no. I thought I knew best. I thought I could make the decision on my own. I thought I had all the information I needed to make the right decision. But I didn’t. It is a regret that will haunt me for a long time. All the things I could have learned that summer. I am not going to dwell on it, or let it ruin my life. But I am going to remember it and I am not going to make the same mistake again.
P.S. I was so excited because I was going to get my dad’s old car. No one hardly ever drove it, and everything about the car just screams my dad to me. And then some white trash rear ended me in downtown Sac and the car is “unsalvagable” and we have to get a new one. I hate my life sometimes.
