What if it were possible to live a life in which we no longer wasted our time regretting what we did or didn’t do? I suggest you follow these 15 tips to finally live without regret.

1 – Put love into your everyday life

Have you noticed that, too often, we do things out of obligation, because we believe we have to.

In fact, we spend all our time saying: “You must” and “I must”.

And that’s what makes our lives so heavy, so sad even.

That’s why, to live without regret, I invite you to replace the words “I must” and “I must” with “I love”.

Indeed, what would be different if, today, you did everything you had to do out of love?

What if you picked your children up from school, not because you had to, but because you loved them?

What if you went to work not because you had to, but because you love to work?

In other words, to live with regret, I invite you to change the way you look at the things you do every day, and add love to them.

2 – Accept being wrong to live without regret

So much time is wasted trying to be right at all costs, trying to be liked by people who don’t like us.

Indeed, to live without regret, it’s time to stop taking ourselves too seriously and accept that we’re wrong, that we don’t please everyone.

In other words, to have a life that pleases you more, I wholeheartedly invite you to ask yourself this question: “And if today, I no longer cared about being right and what others think of me, what would be different?”

3 – Give less importance to work

We create so much stress because our work takes up so much space, because we take our work far too seriously.

Indeed, in our society, our work indicates our social position, defining us in a way. That’s why, in its name, we sacrifice our time, our energy and our well-being.

But to live without regret, it’s time to rethink our priorities.

To do so, I invite you to ask yourself this question: “What would change if I gave less importance to my work? And if I took life a little less seriously, what would I do differently?”

Because remember, you’re not a doing machine, you’re a human being.

4 – Be like a child to live without regret

Have you ever noticed what a child does in the street, at home or at a funfair? He hops around, devours everything with his eyes, wants to touch everything, try everything, feel everything. He marvels, he cries out his joy of life, as well as his despair. Children are whole beings.

In fact, children have no time for regret, because they’re living at 100 miles/hour.

That’s why you have to be like them. Listen to your senses and your desires, and go for it!

Jump into puddles with both feet, run when you feel like running, laugh like never before, cry like never before. Let things touch you and fill you with wonder.

To do this, to live without regret, I wholeheartedly invite you to ask yourself this question: “And if I allowed myself right now to become a child again, what would I want to do to have fun?”

5 – Don’t be afraid to try and change your mind

I’m sure you have lots of ideas, desires and projects running through your head every week.

But the problem is that you’re so afraid of trying and changing your mind that you’d rather do nothing.

Unfortunately, you feel it, you’re treading water, or worse, you’re regressing.

So what can you do to live without regret?

Give yourself permission to give life to ideas, to follow your desires. Dare to try and see if you like it or not.

Dare not to know and throw yourself into the unknown.

Because don’t think you always have to see things through to the end. In fact, you have the right to try things out and give up. That’s what living without regret is all about.

So, I wholeheartedly invite you to ask yourself this question: “And if I allowed myself to try and change my mind if need be, what would I do?”

Remember, you don’t have to be perfect to be happy.

6 – Say what you think and feel to live without regret

Too often, we don’t dare say what we’re thinking or feeling, for fear of looking ridiculous or being hurt afterwards.

So we keep quiet.

But what if you died tomorrow? Wouldn’t you regret not having spoken about your feelings, not having revealed what was in your heart or in your head?

That’s why I wholeheartedly invite you to say things so you can live without regret. Especially the beautiful things, the beautiful emotions and feelings. Indeed, don’t save them for special occasions.

Every day is already a great occasion.

7 – Savour the chance to wake up every morning

Living without regret means remembering every day that we’re lucky to be alive. Indeed, we tend to get up in the morning a little grumpy at the thought of a new day beginning.

But when you think about it, it really is a blessing. And remembering it helps us start our day completely differently.

That’s why I invite you to ask yourself this question: “And if I felt how lucky I am to get up this morning, what would change?”

8 – Love yourself with all your heart to live without regret

Aren’t you tired of constantly putting yourself down and criticizing yourself? Aren’t you tired of always complaining about your body, which is decidedly less than perfect?

You know you can’t spend your whole life not loving yourself this way. In fact, it’s time to change things and learn to love yourself with all your heart.

That’s why I wholeheartedly invite you to ask yourself this question: “And if I knew how to love myself with all my heart, what would I do differently?”

9 – Forgive

All too often, we hold grudges for days or even months on end. And we don’t always realize how much it weighs on us, our shoulders and our hearts.

Don’t you want to live a lighter, gentler life?

Because your heart is not made to hate, but to love!

In other words, learn to let go of anger and resentment. Learn to forgive, all the time.

So, to live without regret, I wholeheartedly invite you to ask yourself this question: “And if I freed myself from my anger and resentments, what would change?”

10 – Letting go to live without regret

Have you ever noticed how you sometimes give too much importance to little things? Stressing yourself out for days on end over the tiniest things?

All that time and energy wasted. All those days that go by without lightness.

That’s why, to live without regret, it’s time to know how to let go.

Take a step back, put things into perspective, but don’t let the slightest worry stop you from being happy.

To do this, ask yourself this question: “And if I chose to let go right now, what would change?”

11 – Taking the time

Today, we always have this word on our lips: “Hurry! We’re always running, thinking about our to-do list, tomorrow, yesterday…

What if we stopped running and took the time to live?

Because life is now. It’s you, right here, right now. It’s not even today, it’s this moment.

That’s why you need to take the time!

To do that, ask yourself this question: “And if I really took the time to live, right here, right now, what would I do differently?”

12 – Spend better to live without regret

The fear of running out of money may be deep-rooted in your life, gnawing at you month after month.

But money isn’t an end in itself, it’s a means to happiness. So breathe! You don’t need a lot of money, you need enough money. Which is something else entirely.

What’s more, I wholeheartedly invite you to spend your money better, on things that really make you happier.

So, to live without regret, ask yourself this question: “And if I were no longer afraid of running out of money, what would be different?”

13 – Don’t think about tomorrow or yesterday

Living without regret means focusing on the present. Indeed, it’s so easy to see our past mistakes and imagine future disasters.

What if all that really mattered was being well, right here, right now?

Because you can’t change the past and you can’t predict the future.

So stop wasting your time by creating unnecessary guilt and anxiety.

That’s why, to live without regret, ask yourself this question: “What if I focused on this moment, and if the past and future didn’t matter, what would I do differently?”

14 – Cultivate your passions to live without regret

There’s no doubt that you have ideas and desires, that there are things that arouse your curiosity. But it’s also possible that you’re stifling the impulses of your heart, because you don’t have the time or it’s not very serious.

But it’s also possible that you’re stifling your heart’s desire. But life is a lot more fun than you think!

That’s why I wholeheartedly invite you to ask yourself this question: “And if I allowed myself to cultivate my passions, what would I do differently?”

15 – Take stock regularly

Living without regrets means taking stock on a regular basis. It won’t be easy to lead a regret-free life every day, because life moves too fast and our bad habits are tenacious.

That’s why you should regularly take time to ask yourself the questions you’ve just seen, all of them.

That way, you’ll be able to put your happiness back at the heart of your priorities!

In addition, ask yourself this final question: “What if I were totally honest with myself, am I really happy right now? What do I need to do differently to be happier?”

Remember, your happiness depends on you and the things you do to make yourself happy.

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover Having regrets at the end of your life: 10 tips to avoid them!
Discover How to live well? Top 7 tips for living happily and Zen-like

I recommend this inspiring book:

The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing by Bronnie Ware

In The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bronnie Ware shares profound insights from her experience as a palliative care nurse. The book explores the most common regrets expressed by the dying and offers a poignant perspective on how to live without regret. Through heartfelt stories and reflections, Ms. Ware encourages readers to prioritize authenticity, pursue their dreams and cultivate meaningful connections. This transformative book serves as a guide for those seeking to live a life in tune with their values, passions and the wisdom distilled from those who have faced the end of life with introspection.

The author has had such an interesting life in general, and shares many anecdotes and reflections on her work as a caregiver for the dying.
A wonderful book!

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself