JumpyTheFrog Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Which do you regret more, the things you did or the things you didn't do (such as opportunities not taken)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqr Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Things that I did not do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountitallJoy Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 I voted for things I've done, but I almost could've gone either way on this one. Good question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Things I've done that have left me with lasting pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Things I didn't do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 The things I didn't do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLG Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Bad decision! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Things I have done have caused consequences I live with daily...Who knows what would have happened with things I didn't do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I've done some really stupid stuff. That's what I regret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I've done a lot to regret, but I don't, because it all led me to where I am, the good and the bad. I regret the things I haven't done, though, because there is something I can do about that, and so it isn't a wasted thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-2-7 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I've done some really stupid stuff. That's what I regret. :iagree:Yep. That's me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I voted things I've done, but could have easily voted the other way. That's a hard one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I have no regrets for the things I've done, but harbour a bit of a pang for those things I didn't do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Things I've done. There's not much I haven't done which leads us back to the regrets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Things I've done. I've done some really stupid things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I let go of most, but there are a few opportunities I passed up that in retrospect, I'm like, why didn't I do that! One was a very out of the blue job prospect from a random, but totally legit, guy I happened to meet in Hong Kong who worked for Doctors Without Borders who was like, why don't you come be the admin person on this project in Indonesia then go work for my friend in India. I was unhappy with my job in China, but for some reason I said no. Oh well. Letting go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I voted for things that I didn't do, but honestly, I don't have many regrets at all. I figure it's a waste of time to continually look back at what might have been different. I can't go back and change anything, but I can face today and hope to make it the best it can be. God has always been my constant friend through my good decisions and bad ones. He applauds me when I'm successful and comforts me when I fail. I think He is a lot of the reason I can live without regret. I never want to go back because I love my life more each passing year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 The things I was wimpy about. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Where is the other / both button when I need one?? I could flip a coin, but then I would skew the results....I regret both. Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Things I didn't do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 They are the same thing - two sides of the same coin. If I regretted not going on an adventure (something I didn't do). I also regretted staying home (something I did). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawana Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I have so much regret. Both for the things done and the things not done. It would be impossible to decide how to vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I regret what I haven't done. Should have started walking in my calling about an eon and a half before I did. I've learned the hard way that time is not a renewable resouce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 “Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.†~Sydney Smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Interesting question.I don't have a lot of regrets over things I didn't do. Actually perhaps that is not completely true, because I am advising my daughters to do a few things differently from me! I have not done any wild things that I regret and I live a regular life, but insert some drama and fun into it as possible. I would most likely have been a much wilder, less domesticated girl had I not married early and with this dh, though, because I do have a crazy side in me. I do really try to not live with regrets, though, as I see my mother and her always looking back and I refuse to be like that, always working on looking for the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Bad decisions when I was much younger. These did not effect me alone and I have regrets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I regret what I haven't done. Should have started walking in my calling about an eon and a half before I did. I've learned the hard way that time is not a renewable resouce. Wow, isn't that the truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Other. At any "fork in the road", the way you chose to go could be either something that you did, or something that you didn't do because you did the other. I regret things I didn't do because I chose to do other things instead that in hindsight were not good for me. So perhaps I actually regret things I did? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 They are the same thing - two sides of the same coin. If I regretted not going on an adventure (something I didn't do). I also regretted staying home (something I did). You know, I went to bed thinking this same thing last night... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I voted for things I've done, but I almost could've gone either way on this one. Good question! Things I have done have caused consequences I live with daily...Who knows what would have happened with things I didn't do... :iagree:Both of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Thankfully - there are very few things I regret. There are things that I could have done differently, but at the time I didn't have better information. Based on what I knew at the time - I think I did the best I could. I do regret things I did not do. Not a lot, not actively (I've kinda become an "in the moment" person), but there are a few things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvnlattes Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I voted things I've done because I can look back and see where I made one particular choice and that set me on a trajectory to other choices that I regret. However, I try to remember that the past is over. While I may wish I had made different choices, I didn't and this is where I am today. I want to look and move forward continually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I've done a lot to regret, but I don't, because it all led me to where I am, the good and the bad. I regret the things I haven't done, though, because there is something I can do about that, and so it isn't a wasted thought. :iagree: with every word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Many times this can go either way. The night before my first wedding, I felt like it was the wrong decision but I was too afraid to call it off. It was a disaster of a marriage. So...I regret marrying him, but it could be turned around into I regret not listening to my inner voice and calling it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 hum, hard question. There's only one thing I've done that I really regret. There are several things that I wish I had done. So, I guess going off number.....it would be things not done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I don't regret things not done because I do feel that I am on the path I should be on and took the steps necessary to get here. I had a chance to live my dreams and I don't regret any of that. Generally, I don't regret things I have done because I too feel that they have led me where I am today. I do live with one major regret for a choice I made that encompassed several years of my life. On one hand, it drove me into therapy and helped me solve a lot of issues but on the other, it was just a bad choice and hurt someone deeply, something that could not be taken back. I regret that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Gosh, neither and both? I don't live with a whole lot of regrets. There are things that I wish I could have changed, but I didn't have the power/knowledge/divine capabilities to. And because these things were out of my control, I have really had to come to peace that my life is as it is supposed to be. It's not a burden that I can or should carry. (The big one in this category is the birth of ds11 and everything that led to his brain injury.) I also feel a lot of optimism that those things that I haven't done, but want to do, will someday become a reality. (I would like to get my RN one day.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 They are the same thing - two sides of the same coin. If I regretted not going on an adventure (something I didn't do). I also regretted staying home (something I did). That's how I looked at it too. So I voted things I've done, because they all lead back to the same place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 All those roads left unexplored. I just hope I can revisit some before my time on earth is over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Bad decisions when I was much younger. These did not effect me alone and I have regrets. :iagree: I also regret my inaction because of fear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 I guess I didn't make my poll choices clear enough. I was thinking more along the lines of trying things that didn't work out, versus not trying something and later regretting it. Maybe I'll make a new poll about that sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Mistakes I've made belong to me. They've helped shape my beliefs, my actions, and my personality. My oldest daughter was a "mistake" that set me on the path to homeschooling mom of many rather than the career no-kids path I thought I'd chosen for myself. So mistakes often turn out to have rather positive consequences. I also don't regret choices I've made not to do something, as long as they were active choices. Looking back, I mostly regret the times I didn't follow through because I was lazy or cowardly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 My motto since I was a little girl was "Don't do anything I'll regret" and it served me well. I have no regrets for things I've done. I wish I would have understood that I might regret not having done things. "No regrets" is my revised motto. There are a few things I've regretted not doing, in part because of worrying I'd regret doing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHASRADA Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I don't have many regrets, but I certainly don't regret *not* doing anything (honestly can't think of anything I *wish* I'd done). I do regret a few things I did do, although I don't lose sleep over it. Water under the bridge, which helped me to become the (hopefully better) person I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) Where is the "c'est payé, balayé, oublié, je me fous du passé" option? :tongue_smilie: ETA: On a more serious note, things I did NOT do - exactly because those I DID are "payé, balayé, oublié" and I can go over it more calmly. The *lack* of an action you believe you should have taken always leaves a certain emptiness and a bitter taste. Edited December 13, 2011 by Ester Maria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyrooch Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Definitely the things I didn't do. I really don't have a lot of regrets in regards to what I've done but I have some major ones in regards to the things I haven't done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akmommy Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 The things I didn't do. I didn't always make the best decisions in the past but, the mistakes I made helped shape who I am today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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