Life Is Too Short To Wake Up In The Morning With Regrets

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“Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about those who don’t. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would most likely be worth it.” ― Harvey MacKay

Harvey MacKay (1932 – present) is the bestselling author of the books “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive” and “Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt.” His books are among the top 15 inspirational business books of all time. He is also a columnist and a businessman, writing articles for United Feature Syndicate and managing the MackayMitchell Envelope Company which he acquired at the age of 26. It is one of the nation’s major envelope manufacturers.

In his book, Mackay emphasized the futility of regrets. However, regret expert Neal Roese of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University found that young people rated regret favourably than unfavourably because it helps them avoid future mistakes. It also helps them make a sense of this world and value things more. This suggests that regret can be a helpful emotion if handled properly.

Yet regret can turn into chronic stress when one has less opportunity to change the situation. According to the research reported in the AARP Newsletter, regret can negatively affect hormonal and immune system functioning and impedes the ability to recover from stress. It is an emotion processed in the amygdala, part of the brain that generates immediate emotional response to threat.

Regret is just another human emotion. Although it may cause depression, it also fuels personal growth if dealt well. To quote Mark Twain: “It’s how you look at your suffering, how you deal with it, that will define you.”