Do you want a do over? Do you wish you had done things in your life differently? Do you have regrets?

It’s easy to look back and say, “I wish I had done this,” or “I shouldn’t have done that.” Because, we have the benefit of seeing how the choices and decisions we made played out. At the time, when we were facing whatever it was and doing the best we could, we were navigating our lives without having hindsight.

You have to forgive yourself if you regret some of the decisions you made. You have to give yourself a pass if you recognize you could have made better choices.

If you can learn to make peace with your past mistakes and look forward, it will positively impact your future.

Only you can decide if you’re willing to forgive yourself for any regrets you walk around carrying on your shoulders. They aren’t doing anything for you or serving you well. I promise. Instead, they’re weighing you down, chipping away at your present moment happiness and stealing your joy.

But, I can’t do it for you. It’s all on you, my friend.

I have regrets. We all do.

Truth be told, I’m not proud of all the choices I’ve made in my life. I’ve behaved badly at times or haven’t always been as nice as I could have been. There are also things I wish I had done, dreams I didn’t have the courage to go after. I can absolutely feel a little remorseful about some of my past decisions. But, then I remind myself I can’t go back. The events of the past aren’t going to change. What’s happened has happened.

I also fully recognize I’m a product of my experiences. And, at the time, I did the best I could.

The older we get, the wiser we are, and it’s easy to second guess some of our decisions. But, it’s important to recognize everything we go through and experience, the good and the bad, makes us who we are today. There are lessons to be learned from our past mistakes, we just have to give ourselves permission to see them.

I wouldn’t be the person I am today unless I had traveled down the path my past took me down, and the same is true for you. You are the person you are today because of the culmination of your experiences. Learn from your mistakes. Grow from what you’ve been through. But, pass on the regrets. Instead find the lessons that are there and move on, giving yourself some grace.

Don’t think of past mistakes as wasted time. Think of them as the classroom on the journey of your life. You can’t go back but you can move forward. A wiser, older, smarter you.

Decide today to do whatever it was you wish you had done twenty years ago. Ditch the regrets and instead, channel that energy into courage and go after your dreams.

That’s your do over.

What are you going to do with your tomorrow?

Find meaning each day,

Dara