Dealing With Regret
Regret can be challenging to let go of. Today, Rosie talks about finding the silver lining in our regrets, and why they don't have to define us.
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(mouse clicking) (gentle music) Headspace Studios. (gentle music) Hello, friends. It's Rosie. Welcome to Radio Headspace, and to Monday. I read a study once that said most of us regret nearly a third of decisions we make in a week's time, and a big part of regret is self-blame over making the wrong choice, whether it was doing something that you now believe you shouldn't have done, or not doing something that you think you should have. I wonder if that's true for most of us. How do we cope with that on the daily? With that in mind, I wanna explore how we can cope with feelings of regret and even learn to change our perspective about so-called mistakes we've made in the past. I guess the biggest regret for me was my attempt to steal a cop car when I was a teenager. It was an afternoon. I got out of school early, and one of my friends that I was with had ditched her sixth period. So we're just walking to the local park, and there were two vehicles there, a red Honda Prelude and a cop car, black and white, doors open, both cars are running, and apparently the police officers in that car had gotten out to pursue somebody on foot, and everybody at the park is just kinda standing around these cars being nosy teenagers, and one of the persons that we were with said, "Hey, Rosie, you should go get into the car." And I thought that was a good idea, and so I walk over to the cop car, and I sit in the driver's seat, and I'm like pushing buttons, just thinking that I was the coolest person there. Not five seconds later, six police vehicles pull up right behind me. They get out of their cars, guns are drawn. I mean, it's like a scene. They searched me. I got cuffed, and I got sent to the local police department to get booked for attempted grand theft auto of a police vehicle. As I was walking into this holding cell, the booking officer is just asking me questions. He's asking my name, he's asking for my parents. The minute he finished taking my information down, with the slyest smile, he said, "Welcome to a life in the system." And I just remember in that moment really feeling like this was it. This was gonna be the rest of my life. In that same moment, I knew that I wasn't going to allow anyone to put me in a box. I felt that shift of I need to make better decisions for myself, and I will do whatever it takes. That's what helped me turn my life around. So I think it's really interesting, right? When we're thinking about regret, we may think an incident was totally life-shattering. I really believe that with every experience like this, there is a sliver of hope and an opportunity to find new meaning. So...
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About your teachers
- More about Andy
A former Buddhist monk, Andy has guided people in meditation and mindfulness for 20 years. In his mission to make these practices accessible to all, he co-created the Headspace app in 2010.
- More about Eve
Eve is a mindfulness teacher, overseeing Headspace’s meditation curriculum. She is passionate about sharing meditation to help others feel less stressed and experience more compassion in their lives.
- More about Dora
As a meditation teacher, Dora encourages others to live, breathe, and be with the fullness of their experiences. She loves meditation’s power to create community and bring clarity to people’s minds.
- More about Kessonga
Kessonga has been an acupuncturists, therapist, and meditation teacher, working to bring mindfulness to the diverse populations of the world.
- More about Rosie
Rosie Acosta has studied yoga and mindfulness for more than 20 years and taught for over a decade. Rosie’s mission is to help others overcome adversity and experience radical love.
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