The Inspire blog

Missed opportunity hurts, and Regret is the worst feeling! It is a mixture of guilt and pain, but let’s not go into the psychology of regret. Everybody, at one point or another, has felt the pain of regret.
Many factors could lead to missing out on great opportunities such as fear of failure. It is natural to feel this way.
Opportunities could be jobs, educational experiences, admission, internships, competitions, outings, marriage, and so on. For many people, it is easy to forget and move on, but for some, it is hard to overcome regrets and it can lead to depression or self-hate. Even science tells us that regrets caused by ‘inaction’ are more likely to cause negative health concerns.
It is very important to turn regrets into lessons and move on. Here’s how;

OWN IT

Move on! If your regrets cannot be fixed, accept them and don’t let them define you. You cannot change your past, but you can prepare yourself for the future. There is no use obsessing over what you have no control over.

Constant regret and self-blame over missed opportunities will only lead to missing out on more great opportunities. In my last blog, I talked about a philosophy called ‘The Sphere of Choice’, which says worry about things you can control instead of things you cannot.

DON’T LOSE HOPE

A quote says ‘Get up! You just missed the only one chance, but you still have a life.’ Life doesn’t move backward, your life is in the present, it’s moving forward, so move with it. Do you know what you should do instead of battling with regrets?

SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES AND MAKE AMENDS

Opportunities don’t come once in a lifetime. They’re everywhere! Learning from the past helps you to update yourself and seize opportunities around you. ‘If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.’- Milton Berle.

‘WHAT IF’ NOTHING….

This right here is the problem. Enough with ‘what if’ scenarios? You feel regretful often because you think of possible outcomes of alternate choices; You imagine your life would be better or perfect if you had taken that opportunity or made that decision when you actually cannot tell.

It could have, it couldn’t have. Who knows, regret is a waste of time. Plus, certain things happen for the best.

MOTIVATION AND GRATITUDE

Be grateful you’re alive to even realize you’ve missed out on an opportunity. “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow”- Melody Beattie. It might be difficult to deal with, but it is important to keep your mind open and embrace reality without judgment. It is best to keep a positive mindset because regrets never help, so improve yourself and keep trying.

FORGIVE YOURSELF AND LEARN

Like I said in my last blog, you are human, don’t be too hard on yourself. Fine, you made a mistake, but as humans, mistakes are so inevitable; learning from your mistakes to where it leads to personal growth is the best. Regrets are powerful, so forgive yourself to release yourself from this powerful force.

SEEK HELP!

I wrote earlier that some people find it difficult to overcome regret if this is you; The best thing to do is to seek professional advice or therapy.

I put together some quotes on overcoming regrets and seizing opportunities:

“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.

“Think to regret is useless in life. It belongs to the past.” – Marlon Brando.

“It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.” – Jackie Joyner Kersee

“There are two kinds of guilt: the kind that drowns you until you’re useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose.” – Sabaa Tahir

“Living with regrets was like driving a car that only moved in reverse.” – Jodi Picoult

Seizing Opportunities

“To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Opportunities, many times, are so small that we glimpse them not, and yet they are often the seeds of great enterprises. Opportunities are also everywhere and so you must always let your hook be hanging. When you least expect it, a great fish will swim by.” – Og Mandino.

“When one door closes, another door opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell

“Opportunities are presented to us every day, but do we see them? To see an opportunity, we must be open to all thoughts.”- Catherine Pulsifer.

GET INVOLVED…
Hello there, what are some factors you feel can lead to missing opportunities? Click here to answer anonymously. Thanks!