"Non, je ne regrette rien" sang the Little Sparrow in 1960. Translation, "No, I don't regret anything". It's one of the most famous French songs in the English-speaking world.

And, let's be honest, it is a fabulous song. What an incredible voice she had. Quite the character too by all accounts. So much so she was denied a funeral mass. I doubt she would have had any regrets about that.

But most of us, if we are honest about it, do have regrets. We wish we had done this or not done that, said this or not said that. I think back to a carpet coat I was very proud of when I was a student with deep, deep regret. Shame actually.

Having regrets is not the same as wishing our life was different though. I don't think that's healthy. All of our experiences brought us to this point. We wouldn't be who we are without the good and the bad.

But I have a different use for regrets. I try to avoid creating more of them.

Now, that's a futile quest. It isn't possible to engineer a faultless future. But, there are things I know today that I would regret not doing or saying, trying or experiencing.

And so, I try to avoid as much of that as I can.

Which means that, hopefully, when I get to the end of my life, I can say, non, je ne regrette rien. But I doubt it. I'll never escape that carpet coat.

Stephen

I am thinking about this today because I am giving a talk on regret minimisation to all of the clients in my coaching program. We meet every Friday to learn together and support one another. If you've been thinking about making some changes in your life, book a call and I'll tell you if I think it could work for you.

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