leadership dot #1999: no regrets

I have a wise brother-in-law who lives by the mantra of no regrets. “We make the best decision that we can with the information available at the time, then move on to make the next best decision,” he said. They are words to live by.

How much time have you wasted lamenting personal or professional decisions that are not able to be changed? No matter how much I regret that I did not see Michael Jordan play in person even though I lived an hour from the United Center, that opportunity is permanently lost. No need to compound it by spending more time wishing I had. We waste time second-guessing decisions that are now done deals as if beating ourselves up over something will make us smarter the next time. It won’t.

Few people intentionally set out to be reckless or careless. Give yourself a break and accept that the door you chose made the most sense at the time.