DaveOlson.ca

couple of recent articles got me thinking about how often we wish we could do parts of life over. As simple as wishing that the last comment you made could be undone or at least edited before the entire blogosphere becomes aware of one of your many quirks or vices.

Most of us… okay all of us, have done things that we wish we could do again. It may be something that damaged you or someone else. It might have been a bad financial decision or relationship. Maybe it was some words you wish you could take back. Whatever the case, what’s done is done. Right?

Well…. not exactly! All too often your life is held captive to the things you regret.

Nearly fifteen years ago, I loaned $35,000 to a friend to help him out for 45 days. At least that’s what he asked for. As of today, I’m still out $20,000 not including the interest I’ve paid on the money since I mortgaged my house to cover it. I regret lending the money but even more, I regret not getting a loan contract done up. My biggest regret though was the loss of the friendship. For several years hardly a day went by that I didn’t think about it. Finally I had to make a decision to free myself from the regret of that situation. While I still hope the money comes back to me, I don’t live in the regret of that experience.

Two things trap us in our past

• Regrets
  The thing about regrets is that ultimately it is our decision whether we regret or not. It is our choice to be held by our past or not. To move forward you have to make a decison to let go.
• Secrecy
  Often the thing you regret is also something you are embarrassed or ashamed about. As a result you hide it rather than expose it. The problem is, the secret keeps you enslaved. Getting things out in the open helps defeat the power that the past has over you.

Here’s my challenge today:

If you could do one thing in life over, what would it be? Are you brave enough to bare that part of your life? If you are you may find that you no longer have any regrets.

So let’s do something to move forward.

To get the ball rolling I’m throwing out a challenge to some other bloggers. Let’s start with Rory, Liz, Alex and Jonathan. Would you four consider writing a post telling about one thing you wish you had the chance to do over? If that doesn’t work how about a comment below?