Do You Have Any Regrets?
 

Pulling this from another thread that has me curious.

Do you honestly feel you have no regrets in your life?

What does the word "regret" mean to you?

I have had lots of "learning experiences."

Some I regret.

All have made me who I am today.

I pretty much agree 100% w/ faster but I'm sure he already knew that. :lol:

Going on dates. I'm scared shitless of women. I need to go change myself.

Do ex-wives count?

JC

Just part of the "internet big dick syndrome"

id have done more humping.

Amen to that! I mean I could regret getting married because she cheated on me but what about all the good times we had together and all of the love that we shared? We traveled all over Europe together... I don't regret that. It's hard to explain how I feel about this subject. You can regret knocking up your bitch of an ex-girlfriend but do you regret having the daughter that you love?:idk: The thing is you can make exactly the same decision (like my getting married) and if it had turned out differently, I wouldn't have any cause to regret, right? If I changed even one thing 20 years ago, nothing that is good in my life right now would be here, hell I might not still be here. It's a tough question... and it has nothing to do with my "E-dick", I just like to be honest.:idk:

I regret the things I've done which have unintentionally hurt others.
Things that if I'd had a little more foresight or perhaps more insight into my own motivations, I could have prevented.
I also regret not following my heart and taking more chances when it comes to women.
I spent too much time chasing the ones who were never going to like me like I liked them, and never noticed (or thought I had reason to take a chance on) some that might have been better for me.

I suppose, given the fact that I'm not unhappy with my life as it's turned out, I ought not have a lot of the regrets that I do. It's just my way.

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”

--Alexander Graham Bell

Regrets.....I've had a few. :whistle:

I regret I cant post more....

Yes I've had regrets and may have a few more. :idk:

Things have still worked out fairly well for me though so it could definitely be worse. All in all life is pretty decent.

I regret not sleeping with my sisters friend before she got into porn. Oh and for all you Raylene fans.... Not to fear she, is coming out of retirement.

I guess the real estate business wasn't paying the bills.

I have disappointments, but nothing I regret. I do not wish to take any of it back, I wouldn't be where I was without those mistakes. If taking back one of my mistakes would make me super rich and an awesome. Sure I regret making that one. :lol:

Simply defined regret means to feel remorse for or be contrite about. Regret does not mean that you wouldn't have done it or that you want to change it. It literally means that you feel sorry about it.

I agree with fasternyou....the rest of you are just playing the semantics game. :idk:

I find that regrets are a waste of time.

Life's too short and there's too much to do to spend time on regretting the past.

(Uh-Oh - Your educator is showing)

It rears its head from time to time. ;)

I also don't think regret means you have to sulk about it or focus on it for years to come. It can also be a simple acknowledgement.

Years ago I was leading a ride down US31 in Michigan. At the last second, I decided to bail at the exit and just made the turn. My friend behind me wasn't so lucky, wrecked his bike and broke his wrist. I regret not being patient and waiting for the next exit. I learned the importance of not making rash decisions when you're leading a ride, but I don't think that means I can say "it made me who I am today" and make it a simple "learning experience". In the end it was a learning experience, but it's also a regret.

regret - 3 dictionary results
re⋅gret
  /rɪˈgrɛt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ri-gret] Show IPA verb, -gret⋅ted, -gret⋅ting, noun
Use regret in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to feel sorrow or remorse for (an act, fault, disappointment, etc.): He no sooner spoke than he regretted it.
2. to think of with a sense of loss: to regret one's vanished youth.
–noun
3. a sense of loss, disappointment, dissatisfaction, etc.
4. a feeling of sorrow or remorse for a fault, act, loss, disappointment, etc.
5. regrets, a polite, usually formal refusal of an invitation: I sent her my regrets.
6. a note expressing regret at one's inability to accept an invitation: I have had four acceptances and one regret.
Origin:
1300–50; ME regretten (v.) < MF regreter, OF, equiv. to re- re- + -greter, perh. < Gmc (cf. greet 2 )

Related forms:
re⋅gret⋅ter, noun
re⋅gret⋅ting⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. deplore, lament, bewail, bemoan, mourn, sorrow, grieve. Regret, penitence, remorse imply a sense of sorrow about events in the past, usually wrongs committed or errors made. Regret is distress of mind, sorrow for what has been done or failed to be done: to have no regrets. Penitence implies a sense of sin or misdoing, a feeling of contrition and determination not to sin again: a humble sense of penitence. Remorse implies pangs, qualms of conscience, a sense of guilt, regret, and repentance for sins committed, wrongs done, or duty not performed: a deep sense of remorse.

Antonyms:
1. rejoice. 4. joy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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re·gret (rĭ-grět')
v. re·gret·ted, re·gret·ting, re·grets

v. tr.

1. To feel sorry, disappointed, or distressed about.
2. To remember with a feeling of loss or sorrow; mourn.

v. intr.
To feel regret.
n.

1. A sense of loss and longing for someone or something gone.
2. A feeling of disappointment or distress about something that one wishes could be different.
3. regrets A courteous expression of regret, especially at having to decline an invitation.


[Middle English regretten, to lament, from Old French regreter : re-, re- + -greter, to weep (perhaps of Germanic origin).]
re·gret'ter n.

Synonyms: These nouns denote mental distress. Regret has the broadest range, from mere disappointment to a painful sense of dissatisfaction or self-reproach, as over something lost or done: She looked back with regret on the pain she had caused her family.
Sorrow connotes sadness caused by misfortune, affliction, or loss; it can also imply contrition: "sorrow for his ... children, who needed his protection, and whom he could not protect" (James Baldwin).
Grief is deep, acute personal sorrow, as that arising from irreplaceable loss: "Grief fills the room up of my absent child,/Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me" (Shakespeare).
Anguish implies agonizing, excruciating mental pain: "I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement" (Abraham Lincoln).
Woe is intense, often prolonged wretchedness or misery: "the deep, unutterable woe/Which none save exiles feel" (W.E. Aytoun).
Heartache most often applies to sustained private sorrow: The child's difficulties are a source of heartache to the parents.
Heartbreak is overwhelming grief: "Better a little chiding than a great deal of heartbreak" (Shakespeare).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

regret (v.)
"to remember with distress or longing," c.1300, from O.Fr. regreter "long after, bewail, lament someone's death," from re-, intensive prefix + -greter, possibly from Frankish (cf. O.E. grætan "to weep;" O.N. grata "to weep, groan"), from P.Gmc. *gretan "weep." Replaced O.E. ofþyncan, from of- "off, away," here denoting opposition + þyncan "seem, seem fit" (as in methinks). The noun is first recorded 1533. Regretfully incorrectly in place of regrettably is attested from 1976.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : regret
Spanish: lamentar,
German: bedauern,
Japanese: 残念に思う
More Translations »
Search another word or see regret on Thesaurus | Reference

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^You copied a novel of definitions and highlighted one buried one. :lol: -10 points.

What about these, near the top?
to feel sorrow or remorse for (an act, fault, disappointment, etc.)
imply a sense of sorrow about events in the past, usually wrongs committed or errors made

That's it.

Hell yes I "regret" things :lol: For instance, let's just look at my previous marriage....

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that my definition is the only one, just that it is one of the possible definitions. That's why I posted all of the definitions. I believe that you and Kel both said that regret is not "wishing you could change things". I just wanted to point out that it can be and that is how I see regret and that is why I don't "wallow" in it.:idk: Btw I like your example but on the other hand, maybe your friend should have not been following you so closely, made a better personal decision, etc. I too have led rides where people have crashed, fatally, and I'm sorry that it happened but I don't regret riding that day or even leading. :idk: I don't know, I agree with Chi in that it's more of a matter of POV and how you deal with things personally than "right or wrong".:idk:

There's always a way to prove your point of view. :lmao:

Yea I'm sure that he has one or two regrets as well!!!:lol: Just fucking with you!

Here's the thing, I don't know if you had kids with this guy but if you had, would you regret your children as well? They go hand in hand, you know?:idk:

Ah come on, I was just showing that my definition is legitimate, that's all. You stated that it wasn't.:idk:

Ya I know. I did the same as you...that's why i was laughing!

You know, I do have a regret, I regret not going to Canada and....:lol:

No, they are independent of each other. I can feel sorry for a decision or event/action in the past and move on...

Given the choice to go back and change things - I wouldn't do anything differently. THAT is a moot point as it isn't possible. I love my family, friends and position in life. So, I don't WANT to change things. But, that doesn't mean I can't "regret" even meeting him :idk:

It's all semantics and you typing words in circles doesn't change that.

True.

too much learning in this thread. Have to save it for later when I have beer available to compensate.

I feel I have made mistakes, but I am not remorseful about them. It may be a game of semantics, but I feel remorse and regret means you would have some inkling to want to change things if you could. I don't feel that way, I would make the same decision again. I feel regret is a much much stronger word than mistake.

So, wishing it a certain way would affect anything?

That said; shit in one hand and wish in another - which do you think would fill up first?

:lol:

Dear Moira,

Thank you for your letter.

Unfortunately, the position of spokes-person has been filled.

Sincerely,

The Make A Wish Foundation

Looks like I aint gonna be spokesing anytime soon....

Since when are humans absolutely logical about their lot in life? A lot of people wish they could go back and change things even though they cannot. Some people can accept things the way they are.

So there's not one thing you've done that you would do differently, knowing what you know now?

Interesting. So if a person tells you they regret something, your interpretation is they can't accept things the way they are?

Clearly.

Geez, get with the program....
:poke:

nope, I am happy with the way things turned out. Mistakes can be great learning experiences.

This is where you get into the semantics game. What type of regret are they referring too? Is it a stupid error on a math quiz or a major life regret? The definition of regret is a very loose one and doesn't give any power to the word. Just cause I feel regret is a powerful word when used with life circumstances, doesn't mean everyone's use of the word is as powerful of a word to them.

Of course they can.......But the "happy state" you're in could have started sooner, had you not made certain mistakes.

Example: Maybe at 15 y/o you had no game, so you missed out on a girl you wanted to go out with. If you had the guts, you would have asked her. But you didn't. Calling it a "learning experience" doesn't prove that your success with the next girl was due to what you learned.

It's almost like you're saying that if you didn't make a mistake with Girl #1, you never would have been able to score Girl #2. And that's not proven.....In fact, odds are the reverse is true.....If you had scored your first girlfriend earlier, you would have automatically had an easier time landing the next girl. Result: more time spent with girls, more happiness, better life.

By and large, I'd say no, I don't have any, because I'm at a very happy place in my life, and I feel like if I changed anything I did in my past, I might not have the happiness I have now.

BUT, that's not to say I don't wish a few things could be erased/undone *cough cough Ex's cough cough* :lol:

wish something happened differently = regret, IMO :shrug:

Now I have the opening song from Wall-e stuck in my head.

Thanks Neebs.
Thanks fer nuthin

Regrets are not necessarily a bad thing. They are learning experiences and we are all in the places we are today because of the decisions we have made. Making mistakes is an important aspect of life. If you've NEVER made a mistake then you aren't trying to live and you are sheltering yourself.

That's why I prefaced it with by and large, as in when I think about things on the whole, I'd say no, BUT upon closer examination, meh, sure I prob'ly do.