It’s probably fair to say that there are things you have done in the past that you wish you hadn’t, and things that you wish you had. Who hasn’t felt like this at times? Hindsight is a wonderful thing and if we knew then what we know now, maybe things could have been different. Perhaps… and perhaps not. Who knows? We will never know if things might have turned out differently because we cannot go back and change them.

You see the only time we have to work with, is the present moment. It is in the present moment that we can affect what our future might be, but it is not going back to the past that will affect the present moment. The only way we can have an affect upon the present moment is in the present moment. That, actually, is incredibly powerful. We can change our whole life and direction in the present moment. The choices we make right here and right now, will have a knock effect upon what might happen in the next moment when it arrives.

So back to this regret, then. Regret is a stagnant, unhelpful energy because it keeps us living in the past. It keeps us in a place of fear, unhappiness and, more unhelpfully, powerlessness. When we regret something, we know we cannot change it and we feel that it will affect us negatively for the rest of our lives. “Oh if only I hadn’t have…” or “Only if only I had…” As the saying goes “if ‘ifs’ and ‘ands’ were pots and pans there’d be no work for tinkers.” Regret is a pointless waste of energy and focus.

Remorse, on the other hand, can be more positive. Remorse conveys a learning experience. It means we can feel remorse what has happened, review it, learn from it, forgive ourselves, grow from it, and then change our lives going forward. More importantly, we can LET IT GO. If we don’t allow ourselves to feel remorse from time-to-time, we hinder our personal development and evolution. The whole point of contrast in life is so that we can learn from it. There’s only so much anyone can learn from having just wonderful, positive experiences. Conversely, if all our experiences were negative ones we’d never be exposed to joy, laughter, happiness, love, and so on.

Living in the present moment, we can choose what we think, and how to respond to what is happening to us right now. By living in the past, and regret, we are not paying attention to the present and, indeed, we are lowering our vibration by thinking unhelpful thoughts. This just leads to attracting more unwanted situations. Further, if all we’re doing is living regretfully in the past, we’re not actually taking advantage of the present moment and are more likely to miss a good opportunity to experience something wonderful. Thus creating another cycle of regret.

Review the past from a centred perspective. Feel remorse for anything you did which you would not like to do again. Learn from it. Then let it go. Forgive yourself for the past, and gift yourself permission to live in the present moment. Experience the wonder, excitement and joy of having the power to change your life, and have an even more positive effect upon the world.

Only you have the power to choose your focus, your thoughts, and your feelings – so why not choose the good ones