How to live a life without regrets: 3 simple lessons from someone who doesn't have any

I am sure that if you dig up my history, you can pinpoint many areas where you ask, "Are you sure you don't regret THIS one? How about this event? This decision? This person???"

My answer is always, "I don't."

If you've been riddled with regrets and want to understand how I could have none, it's because my philosophy in life boils down to these:

Always be decisive

This is perhaps the most significant distinction between events that leave us with regrets and those that don't. Making a decision can be challenging. I use pros and cons lists and an array of decision-making frameworks to help me get to that point.

But once I'm there, I go all-in. I go from making a decision to being decisive about that decision. Like Jon Kabat-Zinn said, "wherever you go, there you are."

Always move forward

Does this mean that I don't go back and change my mind? Yes and no.

Here's how I see it. I can't literally "go back" and change my decision. I can only make a new one.

Always check-in

While decisions can feel like a one-way street, I allow myself to change course. This means keeping tabs on my surroundings and checking if I'm still on the right path.

This is why I don't give my past self a hard time. I cut her the biggest slack if her decision turned out to be the wrong one. But once I have new data and information, then I am free to recalibrate, update my thinking, and ready to make a new decision in order to course-correct.