Many of us will go through our lives with at least one regret.
It is a part of human nature to retreat the things that we haven't done and the opportunities that we didn't take. We may also regret some things that we have done, or regret doing something in a certain way. Regret is a big part of life, and so we have created this list of 15 regret quotes which should hopefully inspire and motivate you today. We hope that you enjoy these quotes and we would love to hear your thoughts on them in the comments section below this article. If you know someone who may enjoy these quotes, then please do be sure to give the article a share with them!
A Bit About Regret Quotes
Regret quotes are great for helping you to reflect on all of your past experiences. They are also great for inspiring and motivating you to live your life without regrets.
What is regret?
Regret is a feeling of sadness or disappointment associated with doing or not doing something. People will often regret not taking up opportunities that they've been offered in the past. Or they will regret something that they did do in the past that perhaps didn't work out too well for them.
Our List of Regret Quotes
1. “If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.”
– William J. Clinton
We all go through life making mistakes, that is just how life is. However, we should learn to never regret our mistakes. Mistakes can always be learned from so that is why we should never regret our mistakes, because they make us a better person.
2. “We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.”
– Steve Maraboli
Do not allow your past mistakes and regrets define you. Every single day is a new opportunity to turn your life around. With that in mind, make sure you take steps every single day to ensure that you really live your life so that you don't have any regrets down the line.
3. “We all do things we desperately wish we could undo. Those regrets just become part of who we are, along with everything else. To spend time trying to change that, well, it's like chasing clouds.”
– Libba Bray
Mistakes are just a part of life. We all do things in life that we wish we could go back and change, however that isn't possible. The only thing that we can do is learn from our mistakes to ensure that we never make that same mistake again in our life.
4. “We don't have to be defined by the things we did or didn't do in our past. Some people allow themselves to be controlled by regret. Maybe it's a regret, maybe it's not. It's merely something that happened. Get over it.”
– Pittacus Lore
Don't allow yourself to be controlled by regret. Although we all may have some regrets in life, we should never allow those to control us. Instead, we should all look forward and focus on living a brighter and more successful future.
5. “If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world.”
– Mercedes Lackeyo
There are many times in life when you may look back on your memories or things that you've done in the past and think "if only i'd done this" or "if only i'd done that". However, we can't change the past, and focussing on "what if" will never accomplish anything.
6. “Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can't build on it; it's only good for wallowing in.”
– Katherine Mansfield
Regret is a huge waste of your time and energy, because it is completely impossible to go back in time and change the past. Instead, we should all spend more time focussing on our present and future to ensure that we have no more regrets later down the line.
7. “The only things I regret, and the only things I'll ever regret are things I didn't do. In the end, that's what we mourn. The paths we didn't take. The people we didn't touch.”
– Scott Spencer
To ensure that we never regret anything, we should jump on any opportunities that we're given. Write yourself a bucket list and spend every day trying to tick things off that list. That way, you'll know for sure that you've lived a life worth no regrets.
8. “Don't live your life regretting yesterday. Live your life so tomorrow you won't regret today.”
– Catherine Pulsifer
There is no point at all regretting things form your past. Instead, you need to focus on your present and future so that you never have to regret anything else again in your life.
9. “Don't allow yourself to become one who, nearing death, regrets what you might have done if only you had taken a few risks. We each have a purpose in life.”
– Gillian Stokes
We should never get to a point when we're older where we start regretting the things that we didn't do when we were younger. If there re things that you want to do and things that you want to get out of life, then you must go out there and make those things happen for yourself.
10. “Regrets are not inherited. Regrets are those elements of life that seek to undermine our enthusiasm and our willingness to assume a life filled with new discoveries and the attainment of goals. Let not your regrets be your undoing but instead your vehicle to learn from what did not work.”
– Byron Pulsifer
Everyone in life will have at least one regret at some point in their lives. It is human nature to look back and evaluate your life and often you will find regrets in this process. However, regrets should be seen as a positive that can be learned from so that you don't make the same mistakes in the future.
11. “Never regret anything from your past because one day, you'll look back and thank it for hurting you so much that you decided to become a stronger human being.”
– Faith Star
If you go through things that hurt you, you may often regret those things or the events that led up to those things. However, regret will not do anything other than cause you emotional pain and strain. Instead what you need to do is look back on those experiences and be grateful for the things that you've learned from them.
12. “Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”
– Unknown
It is important to really live your life. If there are things that you want out of life or things that you really want to experience, then you need to get out there and do those things. By having those experiences, you will ensure that you live a life that warrants no regrets.
13. “We cannot always change what has happened to us, but we can change how we react and how we live in the future. Living with no regrets is living successfully.”
– Dr. Ellen Taricani
Live without regrets as every experience we have is something that can be learned from and will always result in us living a better life in the future. A life without regrets is a truly beautiful life, so be sure to avoid regrets and use bad experiences as learning points, rather than things that you must regret.
14. “Regret, remorse, sorrow all emotions that can result in negative feelings. Only you can change your emotions to positive ones, you cannot change the past but you can change the future”
– Catherine Pulsifer
Regret will only make you unhappy and it is a truly pointless activity. Regretting things will not change anything. If you want to live without regrets, you must learn from every experience that you have and change your own future for the better.
15. “Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience.”
– Victoria Holt
We should never regret things as regretting is pointless. If something bad has happened in your past then that is an experience that you can learn from. Learning from bad experiences is a big part of life.
We hope you enjoyed our list of regret quotes.
Did you enjoy this list of regret quotes? Perhaps you have some regret quotes of your own that you think should be on this list? Or maybe you have some stories about regrets that you would like to share with us? We would love to hear them! Please leave a comment in the comment section below this article.
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