The road not taken

Many times we regret our actions as well as our inactions, what we said or what we didn’t say. As much as we came into this world without instructions yet fresh and naïve, we end up stumbling and faulting countless times. One thing I have noticed is that we human beings are great learners; we have mastered the art of improvising and improving however in an attempt to attain perfection we end up making mistakes and regretting later on. Life being an endless learning process, many times we have lessons disguised in form of obstacles, mistakes and difficulties and so this is what helps our characters develop, it is also said that our mistakes teach us more than our successes do. Mistakes are an essential part of our lives, they are an indicator of where we need to take a pause in the maddening rush of our life and take care of things that need our urgent attention, they are simply to remind us not to let loose what we have earned and acquired over the years. There is not a single person who hasn’t committed mistakes and if someone claims otherwise it means he hasn’t tried anything, human beings and faults are inseparable, we shall keep making them till our last breath. So one doesn’t have to crucify or pity themselves for committing a mistake given that it is an element of life. Alexander Graham Bell once said, “When one door closes another opens but we often look so long and regretful upon the closed door that we don’t see the one which has opened for us.” So instead of wasting valuable time regretting our deeds or misdeeds, we should instead turn our thoughts to the lessons we can draw from the mistake such that we don’t commit it again. Blaming, complaining or grieving wouldn’t help instead we should take responsibility to prevent more mistakes (or undo our existing mistakes). Regret can rob us of happiness, kill our motivation and darken our future, so let’s try to be at peace with ourselves and not let negative emotions like regret corrupt our souls. Lastly, just because you make mistakes doesn’t mean you are a mistake yourself. ivan.ngoboka5@gmail.com