Regret. Guilt. Shame.
These are three of the darkest emotions any human will ever experience. All of us feel these things at different points in our lives, especially after making a “bad” decision. In fact, there are certain situations some of us would rewind (or delete) if we could. The reality is, however, there are an infinite number of reasons we should never regret any of the decisions we make in our lives.
Here are 12 of them:
1. Every decision gives you the opportunity to take credit for creating your own life.
Decisions are not always the result of thoughtful contemplation. In fact, some of them are made on impulse alone. Regardless of the decision, at the time you made it, it was something you wanted or you would not have done it (unless someone was pointing a gun at your head).
Be willing to own the decisions you make. Be accountable for them. Take responsibility and accept them.
2. By making any decision involving your heart, you have the chance to create more love in the world by spreading yours.
Your love is a gift.
Once you make the decision to love, do it without reservation. By fully giving of yourself, you expand your ability to express and receive love. You have added to the goodness of our universe through revealing your heart to it.
3. By experiencing the disappointment that might come with a decision’s outcome, you can propel yourself to a new level of emotional evolution.
You aren’t doing yourself any favors when you try to save yourself from disappointment. Disappointment provides you with an opportunity to redefine your experiences in life. By refining your reframing skills, you increase your resilience.
4. “Bad” decisions are your opportunity to master the art of self-forgiveness.
When you make a “bad” decision, you are the person who is usually the hardest on yourself. Before you can accept the consequences of your decision and move on, you must forgive yourself. You won’t always make perfect choices in your life. Acknowledge the beauty in your human imperfection, then move forward and on.
5. Because of the occasional misstep, you enable yourself to live a Technicolor life.
Anger. Joy. Sadness.
These emotions add pigment to your life. Without these things, you would feel soulless. Your life would be black and white.
Make your decisions with gusto. Breathe with fire. You are here to live in color.
6. Your ability to make a decision is an opportunity to exercise the freedom that is your birthright.
How would you feel if you had no say in those decisions concerning your life? Would you feel powerless? Restricted? Suffocated?
Now, focus on what it feels like to make the decisions you want to make. What do you feel? Freedom? Liberty? Independence?
What feelings do you want to feel?
Freedom. Liberty. Independence.
As luck would have it, the freedom you want is yours. Be thankful for it in every decision you make, “good” or “bad.”
7. When you make a decision resulting in an ugly aftermath, you refine what you do want in your life.
It’s often not possible to know what you do want until you experience what you don’t want. With every decision, you will experience consequences. Use those outcomes as a jumping off point to something different (and better) in your future.
8. By feeling the pain from a decision “gone wrong,” you enable yourself to bask in the magnificence of a decision “gone right.”
You will not know light without darkness, love without pain, nor courage without fear. When you are experiencing something unwanted, embrace it. That situation, person or thing will allow you to recognize (and treasure) the brilliance of that which you desire when it becomes yours.
9. For every “failed” decision, you will make a “successful” decision.
Even if you don’t hit the mark every time, by continuing to make decisions you are realizing several of your life’s purposes: to experience, to learn and to feel. Although not all decisions work out, when they do, there is nothing more life-affirming. And, when you get a taste of this gratification, you are inspired to move towards more of what you crave.
10. You will make no mistakes. You only will have experiences.
Start thinking about “bad” decisions as learning opportunities. By spinning every decision as a chance to learn, you will completely rewire your brain. This rewiring will lead to different thoughts and beliefs.
When you start believing differently, your world will unfold differently. How this unfolding manifests is your choice.
11. “Bad” outcomes allow you to see that you are not your decisions.
Your decisions don’t define you as a “good” or a “bad” person. Your decisions help you remember the wisdom ever-present within your own heart. The results of your decisions can serve as a wake-up call to remember who you really are: divine perfection.
12. Depending on how you choose to think, you will be able to see that every decision holds value.
There is a gift in every decision you have ever made. With a shift in thinking, you will come to understand those gifts. All you have to do is ask yourself, “What is the gift in this?”
And then listen to your heart speak.
Featured photo credit: Oh No via Bigstock Photos
