The Importance of Eliminating Regret in Relationships

Regret can suffocate and hurt your relationships. It can make you question your status and make you wish for something else. Rather than allowing regret to grow and cause damage, it’s smart to become aware of it, change it, and eliminate it.

You have the power within you to eliminate regret from your relationships. Consider these strategies:

1. Avoid ignoring regret. Pretending that regret doesn’t exist won’t make it go away. It’s important to recognize that you’re experiencing this issue and work on resolving it. Figure out why you feel regret.

• Is the regret coming from recent interactions with an ex? Is it appearing because you’re comparing yourself to others?

2. Accept your mistakes. Recognize that perfection isn’t attainable – for anyone. Be kind to yourself and your partner, so regret doesn’t take over your lives.

• Accept that mistakes will happen. What matters more is how you react to them. Instead of wallowing in regret, focus on overcoming and moving past mistakes.
• Mistakes can serve as powerful teaching tools. They can show what can go wrong, so you can avoid it again. They can give you important life lessons you may not learn otherwise.

3. Understand the role of missed opportunities. Research shows that a missed opportunity is the biggest reason for regret. It’s more common for you to regret not doing something than to regret taking action. So, try to take advantage of good opportunities instead of letting them slip by.

• Do you have a particular missed opportunity that is haunting you and hurting your relationship?
• In some cases, people regret staying with a partner or not giving a different partner a chance. Regrets about previous relationships, cheating, and affairs are also common.

4. Be bolder. Since most regret comes from not taking action and missing opportunities, cultivating courage can prevent regret from occurring in many instances.

• If you’ve been scared to ask for something or change something about your relationship, then speak up.
• If you’re not happy with the way your partner treats you or the kids, then ask for change.
• You can’t allow regret to continue to rule your thoughts. It won’t disappear on its own and will grow stronger if you ignore it.

5. Consider therapy. Individual or couples therapy may be the key to getting over your regret.

• You can learn how to let go of your regret and prevent it from returning.
• Therapy can make your relationship stronger, help you overcome challenges, and create healthy coping strategies.
• Individual therapy can help you get to the bottom of the real reason why you suffer from regret. It can help you uncover years of past mistakes or pain that you’ve buried. It can show you how to move on and get over your fears.

Regret can act like a dangerous force that causes destruction in your relationships.

Before it hurts you or your loved ones, take steps to get rid of it. You’ll strengthen your relationship and your love will grow.