Things could have taken a turn for the worse. It’s impossible to really know what our alternative realities are, for better or worse. So, we have to make do with what’s in front of us and act based on what we know.

Things could have turned out much, much worse

Regrets are a byproduct of living, experiencing, and going through the ups and downs of life. No matter your decision, there are always going to be other options that you subsequently turned down.Instead of letting those feelings of regret weigh you down, use them to your advantage. Reflect on why you feel remorse over something you did or didn’t do. Is there a way you can take those experiences and turn them into lessons for the future?Looking into your past and re-experiencing those emotions leads to stagnation. But using the past as a guide on how to make better decisions in the future? Now<warningtag> that’s an opportunity for growth.</warningtag>

Move forward: Turn regrets into opportunities

People like to time travel in their heads. When we were kids, we would wish that we were grown-ups already. And when we become adults? Well, you know the answer.Time travel happens all throughout our lives. When people are bored at work, they think about sitting at home watching TV. When they watch TV at home, they worry about work.We end up wishing we had savored more of our time as it was. So instead, we should focus our time on being, rather than wishing. Take a moment right now, and enjoy the moment you are in.

 Embrace the present

We want everything — it’s human nature. We want money, recognition, fun, and good relationships. The problem is that there’s only so much time in the day and sacrifices are made.If you look back and think that you should have had more fun, that’s probably because you said “no” to fun and “yes” to money. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Think about what would happen if you had chosen to have more fun and worked less.

Saying “yes” to one thing means saying “no” to others

At one period in your life, you might focus on building a career. Then, your priority shifts to spending time with your family.Wanting your past self to have spent time doing something else means placing your present set of values on your former self, which doesn’t make sense.Our values evolve as we age. Even now, you might be spending time on a goal that your future self would think differently about. That’s okay. What’s important is that your values in that time align with the activities that you’re pursuing.

People have different priorities at different stages of life

You act only based on all the information you have at the time. But sometimes, circumstances change so that when you look back, it seems like you should have made a different decision.Stop being so hard on yourself. Based on your current situation at the time, you picked the best choice amongst others. Even today, you don’t know what the future holds in store and you’ll likely make choices depending on what your situation is like right now.

Hindsight is 20/20

<ul><li>It’s sad to hear about people who go through traumatic incidents and later on blame themselves for something that wasn’t their fault. Maybe someone couldn’t rescue a loved one or lost an opportunity for personal growth.</li><li>Often, people blame themselves when they look back at what they lost. At the same time, they remove from their memories the fact that they really didn’t have a choice at the time.</li></ul>Don’t tear yourself up. Why not recognize that you did what you thought was right at the time?

Many events are outside of your control

Research has found that 50 percent of happiness comes from our genes, while 40 percent comes from our daily thoughts and actions. That leaves only 10 percent from our actual life circumstances.Having more doesn’t mean you’ll be happier. There will always be someone with more of what you want, and that person isn’t necessarily happy.Instead of ruminating about how this or that could be better, practice thankfulness. Remember to be grateful for what you have as you travel your own journey.

Happiness is largely a choice

Feeling stuck in life? How to actually move forward

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Ways to Move Forward When You're Feeling Stuck

How to deal with regrets, in order to move forward in life

Out of nowhere, you have a flashback to a crossroads moment. You think back to that point when you had a decision to make. Do you go or do you stay? Do you pick this option or that option?

Many events are outside of your control

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