Looking Backward to See What May Be Ahead of You

One of the challenges with living is the ability to be able to look back upon our lives. For some of us, it’s an enjoyable activity. But for others, that glance in the rearview mirror of life can be a challenge because of a word we don’t often like to think about, but it can show up in sneaky ways. Regret tries to sneak in and rob us of the joy of today; attempts to discourage our future dreams because of past mistakes; and attempts to seize our hearts with fear from moving forward and dreaming again. But, I want to offer a different perspective. I am a life coach, right? I don’t believe that you should downplay or aim to not feel regret or negative emotions associated with your past. I’m the coach who says feel what you feel and utilize the feeling, utilize the past, utilize the memory to move yourself forward and to make better decisions. Here’s an example: For some, you may regret that you have not married and had a traditional family because you’re a certain age. Here’s how we reframe that experience. Rather than regretting or lamenting about what we do not have, we...