Regret

Hello, my future readers,

Today's topic is very important and relatable. I feel like, no matter your culture, childhood, or country, there has been a time when you've felt regret—sadness about something in the past that you wish you had handled differently, or that you wish had never happened.

My Regrets

Okay, I have a lot, but I try not to dwell on them too much in order to focus more on the present. However, when these memories pop into my head, they really bother me. I’ll share a few stories or situations that I think about often.

Middle School Laughter

When I was in middle school, there was a tradition in Egypt—I’m not sure if it was common elsewhere—where we would stand in columns in the morning to do some light exercise. Afterward, one of the students would come up and lead a flag salute three times with a microphone. The entire school would follow suit.

For a kid, this position was so prestigious. The person was known throughout the school and had an aura of importance. It felt like a big deal.

One day, the usual student was sick and couldn’t do it. The teacher asked me to step in. Don’t get it twisted—I wasn’t the second choice at all; I was more like the fifth option, but everyone else was absent that day.

I accepted immediately. I always hyped myself up internally, thinking, "Come on, boy, you’re the man for the job. This is your moment. Let’s go. You’re doing it. Come on, let’s go."

Here’s how I remember it now: My moment had come. The light was on me. The whole school was watching. This was the day everyone would know who I was.

I stood there with the microphone to my mouth and said the words. But my voice came out shaky and weak, and the teacher was embarrassed. A lot of students laughed. I fumbled my moment. Time to go back to the shadows. It was good while it lasted.

i felt pretty bad after that moment I was devasted I wanted some UFO to come and pick me up at that moment but why would they pick me up to test my failure? nah this is too much I going too hard on myself there but the premise is i was so sad when this happened

It wasn’t that dramatic in reality, but that’s how I remember it now.

Thoughts on Regret

Let’s take a deep dive into regret as a whole—why we feel it, when we feel it, and what we get from it. Regret comes from dissatisfaction with your current life, so you dig up memories from years ago, thinking your life would be different if only things had gone another way. But forget about all that; it won’t benefit you. It’s quite the opposite—it will harm you and could even lead to depression.

What you should do is learn from it and convert that learning into actions to improve your current life. This is my perspective on it.

I'll tell you something: No matter how bad your past was, nobody will think poorly of you if your current situation is good or improving. They’ll praise you for how you’ve changed from who you were in the past to who you are now.

So always focus on your present self. Learn from the past, but don’t let it harm or slow you down in any way because it’s already happened and is gone.

To be clear, I’m also a victim of this sometimes. Certain situations slow me down and make me sad, but I try my best to overcome them quickly so I can focus on my life.

In conclusion, I hope you enjoyed this article and found something useful that you can apply to your own life. I’m looking forward to your feedback in the comments, or you can send an email if you prefer.

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