“The saddest summary of life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.” ~ Unknown
We all have something stored in our memory banks of the past that we wish we could have done differently, or something we wish we didn’t do.
As we get older we learn and grow, but that doesn’t mean we have to regret what we did before we learned how to do things differently. If we didn’t go through those experiences, we might not have grown into the strong and knowledgeable people we are today.
What I’m proposing is that we get rid of the negative thoughts—the could haves, might haves, and should haves—and start living a life that won’t make us feel regretful. Not even at an older, wiser age.
Here is a list of things you can do to practice living life with no regrets:
1. Realize that it’s okay to make mistakes. Just make sure to learn from them, forgive yourself, and move on.
2. Make your health and wellness a top priority and always take care of yourself so you’re ready to take care of others.
3. Follow your own path, not one that others want you to follow.
4. Find the humor in life and laugh like there is no tomorrow.
5. Relax and move with the flow of life by being unafraid of change.
6. Be adventurous by trying new things and taking more risks.
7. Have more intellectual curiosity and embrace creativity.
8. Try to find happiness with as many different people as you can.
9. Think for yourself instead of letting other people’s opinions influence you too much.
10. Try not to judge people before you get to know them.
11. Be thankful for what you have now instead of thinking about what you don’t have.
12. Wish well upon everyone equally and try to admire without envy.
13. Share your happiness with others instead of hoarding it all for yourself.
14. Don’t try to change someone—love who they are now.
15. Enjoy the journey, not just the destination.
16. Know that happiness is bigger than any bank account.
17. Control negative thoughts so that they don’t contribute to the outcome of your life.
18. Use your energy wisely because spending energy complaining, worrying, or being impatient is just wasted energy.
19. Be bold. Find the courage to change things that should be changed and accept that there are some things that cannot be changed.
20. Love your work. If you don’t currently love what you do, figure out what you would love and take the first step toward that life.
21. Turn your discontent into a mystery and enjoy trying to solve it.
22. Face problems from different angles in order to find solutions.
23. Gain independence by realizing that on this earth we are all dependent upon each other.
24. Change your perspective by taking on a wider view of things.
25. Don’t waste time trying to bring disagreeable people around to liking you.
26. Become the person you would like to spend the rest of your life with.
27. Be honest with yourself and others by saying what you mean and meaning what you say.
28. Treat people with respect and compassion.
29. Live in the now by loving the present and being aware of your thoughts and actions. Think happy thoughts and speak powerful words.
30. Try not to put things off until later.
31. Never hold grudges.
32. Face your fears head on and try to do the things that you think you cannot do.
33. Spend time with people who make you happy while also not depending on other people for your own happiness.
34. Stand up for yourself and others and don’t let anyone or anything hold you back.
35. Be yourself and love who you are now.
36. Be a participant in life rather than an observer.
37. Do the things that you love to do as much as you can.
38. Write out a list of goals and achieve them by doing them step by step. Don’t give up when things get difficult.
39. Do something every day that makes you feel proud of yourself—commit random acts of kindness whenever you get the chance.
40. And always keep on moving forward.
I know it seems like a rather large list of things to take on, but you can accomplish a lot on this list by doing just one thing. For example, right now as I’m typing this I’m putting into practice at least eighteen things.
Put these things into practice and see where life takes you, without regrets. And please comment below. I’d love to read your thoughts on this.
Man and the moon image via Shutterstock

About Jenny Nichols
Jenny Nichols is a 21 year old dedicated to committing random acts of kindness everyday to try to improve upon herself while making the world a better place at the same time. You can read her blog here: http://mariashelpers.blogspot.com.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by CoffGirl19: RT @tinybuddha 40 Ways to Live Life Without Regrets http://bit.ly/b2mONP…
an excellent way to live
my very favorite is #26. Become the person you would like to spend the rest of your life with.
that sounds JUST right. 🙂
Couldn't be better!
becoming the person i want to spend the rest of my life with and treating my discontent like a mystery … I think I can do that 🙂
Excellent post Jenny – I'll definitely put a lot of these into practice and make the effort to keep up with the ones I already do.
Kudos
Sam
Jenny, I love you! You'ver garnered a lot of wisdom in 21 years. Thanks for sharing yourself with the world.
[…] to feelings with more feelings. Odds are if you choose the latter, you’ll do something you’ll regret […]
40 ways to be happy & live life to the full..!
We cannot not always see our life as an adventure story, yet the more we practise doing so the more capable we become … we can use positive, practical common sense as our best friend.
40 ways to live life to the full… !
We cannot always see life as an adventure, yet the more we practise this, the more capable we can become.. we can learn to rely on positive, common sense as our best friend…
thank you and thankyou again. i needed this. and will read it every morning
Not really a tip of living without regret but a tip none the less:
I've started building a “Life Binder”, it's a binder of daily to-do lists, blank paper for notes/sketches, and other goodies. I've printed this and included it.
this is cool
I will definitely be referring to post regularly as a reminder of how life should be lived. Very well thought out. Thank you.
[…] 40 Ways To Live Life Without Regrets […]
[…] 40 Ways to Live Life Without Regrets […]
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[…] 40 Ways to Live Life Without Regrets […]
[…] Jenny Nichols wrote in 40 Ways to Live Life Without Regrets: become the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. That person would love and accept […]
It's really help, I will keep in mind. That's the way to stay alive.
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Love it!
[…] 1. Practice releasing regrets. […]
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Thanks for this beautiful, wonderful article. These little nuggets of wisdom will go a long way….I wish more inspiration for you so you can continue to inspire others…
Very beautiful. I’m printing it and it’s going on my ‘fridge 🙂
[…] 40 Ways to Live Life Without Regrets […]
“Try to find happiness with as many different people as you can.”
How do you “find happiness”? What constitutes as “happiness”? I don’t understand this. I don’t think we can “find happiness”. Where does it come from?
Thanks and shared on my facebook
Epifanio
Nice and inspiring! Thinking happy thoughts and speaking powerful words sound like the greatest tip!
That’s really a long list! But I would love to try those methods. 🙂
Nice and thoghtful writing
Want 2 try every thing in my life…bocz v have only 1 chance 2 live……:)
All are great. This is the way how you spend your life.
Nice Tips but its not that so easy to apply as we cant get out of our personal problems (Person who found this blog obviously has some own problems that why he/she is searching for solution) Anyway I will not quit, Am gonna take a print & paste it on a wall of my bed room. Tryn to apply & learn one by one & day by day. Hope for better & Happy future
GUD LUCK 🙂
Every life has regrets, no such thing as no regrets.
Great list of ways to life happily, I like all of them but at some point we do regret but its part of life, its said true keep people and love ones happy.
This is something that is really very inspiring. This can also help people to be positive in living their lives.
Living in the past should not hinder a person to move on to the future. It is okay to commit mistakes as this would definitely provide you the experience and learning that you can use as you continue with your life. But having regretful is not advisable. This negative thoughts should be converted into a positive thinking. People do make mistakes. the difference is the attitude towards it.
Alexis,
expert on Community Service Quotes
I think every person who is struggling with something in their life is aware of this list. If it were as easy as reading it and trying to apply it, people wouldn’t be unhappy or searching for help. Not one thing on the list was news to me. However, not one thing on the list has helped put the hurt behind me…not yet anyways. Before someone criticizes me, its not for lacking of trying. Trust me, feeling this hurt is not something I cherish. I try everyday to let go and live life to the fullest. I have yet to make much headway. I will keep trying. I just wish it was as simple as making, reading and following lists.
Hi Laura,
My name is Lori, and I run this website. Though I didn’t write this post, I felt compelled to reach out to you. I know that a list like this can seem really trite when you’re dealing with internal and external resistance. It’s all so much more complex than any one list, blog post, or even book possibly cover.
I think that our struggles are rarely about lack of knowledge; they’re about limitations that make it hard to apply it. I know that feeling of frustration I (think I) sense in your comment. I hope you’re being patient and kind to yourself. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that sometimes I don’t realize in the moment how much progress I’m making. It’s quite possible you ARE living life to the fullest…you just haven’t realized yet that this is a necessary part of your journey.
Much love,
Lori
[…] I bring it to fruition? How do I know that what I choose will work out, and if it doesn’t, that I won’t regret not going the other […]
Wow this is so perfect. Exactly what I was looking for I’m going into my senior year of high school and sometimes just feel disapointed in myself. Bcuz I don’t really try new things and I’m not very adventourous I guess you could say and I feel like life is really picking its pace up so I just feel like I’m living my life with regrets so number 32 is something I’m going to try my hardest to correct,and I love hearing you should “live your life to the fullest” I never quite knew how to do so but this article says it all I’m printing this and hanging it on my wall. Reading this was refreshing, thank you:)
This one is surely looking one of the incredible ways to live life healthier, happier and without any regrets. The regarding information really shares the exceptional creative information for that. I am highly impressed to see them. It’s truly looking one of the most unique experienced post about it. Thanks for sharing.
thank you..i have been a negative child since i was 9..and i didnt enjoy my childhood life..it was messed up..but after reading motivational books i have changed completely..the list above is wonderful thank you for sharing!
This is awesome. I’m going to be a sophomore in college and find this a challenging and creative way to go about self improvement. For all those that have droids, i would suggest downloading “days matter” by zuomj and setting a different number for each day and trying to accomplish one, or at least think of it, everyday and repeating for every 40 days. time consuming, but i’m really looking forward to trying some of these out. Good luck everyone!
The things that are easy in the short term tend to make life harder in the long term and the tough decisions that you make now will ensure a better tomorrow 🙂
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