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One thing, probably every human would agree on is that they don’t want to have any regrets at the end of their life.
We all know and hate the feeling of regret. If you let it, it can haunt you for ages.
But that leaves a question. How do we live a life we won’t regret?
Now naturally, there is no universal formula for a “perfect life.” It much depends on you and your personal goals and values.
Still, there are a few items so many people would agree upon that we can call them essential to living a fulfilled life. And if you have lived a fulfilled life, there won’t be many regrets to dwell upon.
Some of the points I am going to list in the following were inspired by a study mentioned in The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha. I mention this because I know that you, as a Felicity Seeker, strive for a happier life. I recommend you to read The Happiness Equation as a tool to reach this goal. It is a very easy read but definitely worth it!
By the way, if you are interested into more book recommendations, I have a Reading List which I regularly update on all my favorite non-fiction books.
With that said, here are 15 Ways To Live A Life You Won’t Regret. Enjoy!
1. Don’t hold grudges
Although many of us might already know this, only a few people can resist the temptation to hold a grudge.
I found a quote that expresses perfectly why holding a grudge is merely idiotic.
“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
– Nelson Mandela
Holding onto the anger other people caused you will not hurt them nearly as much as it hurts you!
We all know that anger and resentment are negative emotions. They don’t make us happy. So why per se would you cling to them?
The only answer would be that you want to punish the other person for what they did. But is it really worth it if it makes you miserable?
This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to forgive the stranger, your friend, or your family member for what they did. Not holding a grudge mainly means to let it go.
Stop overthinking what they did. Decide on the lesson it taught you and move on.
You don’t want to look back on your life and regret never having gotten over this issue.
But if this kind of situation happens repeatedly, at a particular point letting go won’t be enough. If you realize that this person is absolutely toxic for your life, you need to distance yourself as much as possible.
Of course, this is not always easy. Especially if it concerns family members.
Simply try to spend as little time as possible with that person. And who knows, maybe after a while the person will come around, and your dynamic will change for the better.
The important thing is to keep a healthy balance between not holding grudges and not letting people run all over you. Both will only cause regret.
2. Have a Bucket list
This generation has already discovered bucket lists as a massive tool for living a fulfilled life.
We tend to have a thousand wishes and just as many plans on what we want to experience. However, as life happens, we get so wrapped up in the hustle that we easily forget or postpone all those plans.
And we all know what happens if you postpone something. It probably will never get done.
Collect all your wishes and plans on a bucket list. I personally like to use Pinterest for that.
Then set yourself the goal to check at least one item off that list every year/6 months/3 months. Whatever suits you best. The important thing is that you commit to it.
Although I don’t believe a bucket list will ever be empty, it would be nice to look back on our lives and see how many things we did get to experience from that bucket list.
3. Travel
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”
– St. Augustine
Traveling changes you! Every trip you take gives you a new perspective on life. It not only teaches you to be humble but also to be grateful for the life you have.
At the end of their lives, many people wish they would have traveled even more. But no matter how much you travel, you will never have seen everything.
To live life to the fullest, you need to take advantage of everything life offers. And life offers you the world! You can reach far away countries in only a fraction of the time our ancestors needed. Why not take advantage of that?
If you want to hear more reasons why you should travel, check out the video of one of my favorite YouTubers Alux. They collected 15 Reasons Why You Should Travel. It will make you want to book your next trip immediately.
4. Go for it!
Whatever it is you always wanted to do, do it! At the end of your life, you will regret not acting more than having taken the risk.
So if you always wanted to start that business, do it! If you ever wanted to go skydiving, do it! And if you’ve wanted to ask that person out for ages, do it!
If something has been nagging on your mind for a while now or you feel that strong sense that you should take that opportunity, you should take it.
I’m sure you have felt that sense of regret before. It’s not pretty. But right now, we can still tell ourselves that there will be the next time. At deathbed, that’s not possible.
And anyway, would it be such a disaster if you failed? Life is not a straight curve. It has its ups and its downs. If you never fail, you do not really live!
5. Do it for yourself
You only have one life. ONE!
Everybody else already has a life of their own. Why would you let them decide over your life?
Sure, the younger you are, the more natural it is for other people to have power over your life. But at a certain point in life, you have to break free from them. There is absolutely no point in living for other people.
After all, they won’t be able to ease your regret at the end of your life.
6. Be healthy
The healthier you live your life, the more time you have to do all the things on this list.
And even if you should manage to live a reasonably long but unhealthy life, is that really a life worth living?
Think of all those elderly people being overweight, barely able to walk, barely able to hear or see and having to ingest a whole pharmacy every day.
I don’t know about you, but that’s not how I want to grow old. That’s not how I see myself at 80, 90, or even 100 years old.
7. Love yourself and your flaws
Stop beating yourself up! Why would you spend so much time being unhappy about your looks?
We have only a limited time on this beautiful earth. Why would you waste it away with negative emotions?
So what if you have a crooked nose? Be grateful that you do have a functioning nose at all! Just imagine what life would be like without your sense of smell.
Sure, you might not look like a top model (although I have to add here, that apparently oddities in look are very popular in models) but even they are dissatisfied with certain parts of their body.
And anyway, our body is just the shell of our mind. We do need it to live, that’s why we need to take care of it. But it certainly is not the most crucial part.
Just think about it. Would you rather live like Stephen Hawkins or look drop dead gorgeous but be mentally barely able to conceive the world around you?
I suppose you’d choose the first option. So don’t be so silly and beat yourself up over your looks. Instead, be grateful for the functioning and healthy body that allows you to live this incredible life!
8. Connect with people
Humans are social creatures. Although at times we might feel like we hate all of our fellow humans and just want to be left alone (trust me, I have been there as well ^^’). In the end, we want to share our life with somebody.
We want to have people we can celebrate our successes with. Friends that inspire and motivate us. Friends and partners that support us through our worst times.
Just people we can love and who love us.
Yes, I believe it’s essential to have and enjoy alone time. But alone time quickly turns to lonely if it becomes the majority of our time.
9. Change things up
Safety is one of our basic human needs. That’s nothing new. However, only a few people acknowledge that uncertainty or variety is just as much a human need.
If there is too much certainty in our lives, we get bored. That’s why nowadays, that western societies live as save as never before, many people seek adrenaline through bungee jumping or dangerous parkouring.
Of course, I am not recommending you to do a life-threatening activity. Instead, try and get that needed variety in life through changing up your routines and getting out of your comfort zone more often.
If you need to, set yourself a goal to do something new and exciting every month or so.
After all, you don’t want to regret having lived a boring life.
10. Have FUN!
Our generation is way too serious about everything! We need to relax a bit.
Being serious about your life and your future is great. You probably shouldn’t live life with a YOLO attitude.
But being serious about your future doesn’t make you happy now. And in the end, the Now is all we ever really have since our life consists out of a series of Nows.
So, make time for fun in all that seriousness! Again, you don’t want to regret having lived a boring life.
11. Have principles
We humans are moral creatures. We like living by certain principles.
For example, we all know, that we shouldn’t lie, cheat, steal, or harm others.
Inevitably, we all brake some of those principles sooner or later. However, what matters is how often you break them.
Become clear on what principles are essential for you and to which you want to commit.
If you stick to that, it might spare you some regret.
12. Be intentional about your time
No matter how much time you have left in life, in the end, you will probably wish it had been more.
Therefore, many people regret having wasted their time.
To avoid the regret of wasted time, you should always be intentional about the things or people you spend your time with.
Ask yourself: “Is this something I will look back at and be glad I did it?”
Read also: 15 Ways To Spend Your Time Wisely
13. Never stop learning
For some reason, many people seem to think that learning stops as soon as you have a degree. But why should it?
Our world never stops evolving. Each day there are so many new things to learn, and we will never be able to learn them all.
However, wouldn’t you enjoy looking back onto your life and see how much you have learned? How much have you improved over the years?
Everything new that you learn can change your life. It might seem insignificant the moment you learn it, but maybe in 5 years it suddenly is of use to you.
Aside from that, constant learning also provides significant brain benefits. For example, it reduces the risk of dementia substantially.
Being a student for life definitely plays its part in a fulfilled life.
Read also: 18 Powerful Personal Growth Ideas
14. Be yourself
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
– Oscar Wilde
Did you ever hear somebody say “I’m so glad I concealed my real personality and acted like all the others. It made life so much better!”
No? That’s what I thought. Acting like something, you are not, is taking a tremendous amount of effort and will never truly make you happy.
That’s why many people regret not having been unapologetically themselves. Again, you only have one life. There is simply not enough time to act like something you are not.
15. Put in the effort to be happy
Lastly, this is one of the most common regrets people have at the end of their lives according to The Happiness Equation. They regret not having been happy enough.
Happiness is a huge topic for me, and therefore, I made it into one of the main themes of this Blog.
Most people rely heavily on outside circumstances to make them happy, when, in reality, happiness vastly depends on your mindset.
Sure, it may be challenging to set your mindset up for happiness. But it is definitely worth the effort.
So instead of binge-watching Netflix, why not spend a bit time working on your happiness.
You will thank yourself later.
Alright, those are the 15 ways to live a life you won’t regret.
What about you? Are you already practicing these 15 ways, or is there something you want to improve on?
Leave a comment down below. I’d love to hear how you plan to improve your life!
Until next time,
Sophie
