# Regrets are fuel, not the fire.

By [Durwin](https://paragraph.com/@durwin) · 2023-08-17

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![Regrets are scary and painful, but we can learn to control them for our betterment, slowly but surely.](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/73f711c1ac07991b87d3ab6abc49f9b3c730090d294041bb56da00102174fc3c.jpg)

Regrets are scary and painful, but we can learn to control them for our betterment, slowly but surely.

You want to know what is regret?

Walk into an old folk's home or retirement house and speak to the old timers there.

They will tell you about their war stories, heartaches and unfulfilled dreams.

Nothing stings more than regretful wishes of what could have been.

We all make mistakes in our life.

That’s part of growing up and maturing.

Some mistakes are unavoidable while others are just silly and completely preventable.

It’s ok.

Don’t beat yourself up too much.

![Good days and bad days, we will all experience it at one point in life. Don’t beat yourself up too much.](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/28d5cbf710c7b823fb79c4c30fada50739a0f94b89b52a33a088e27dcb2c40d8.jpg)

Good days and bad days, we will all experience it at one point in life. Don’t beat yourself up too much.

Sometimes we need the silliness to make the rest of the times sweeter.

Not every decision can be carefully planned for and calculated precisely.

Sometime things just happen and we just have to make the best of it, however way we can.

But all of the things I did “wrong” this year, nothing beats the things I wished I did do.

The pain of knowing what could have been cuts deeper than regretting doing something.

I should have hired more aggressively, do more calls, laughed more, expanded my networks further, wrote more, go for more speaking engagements, travelled to the US earlier, invested more, learnt coding blah blah blah.

![Consider for a moment, the amount of things Elon Musk has tweeted over the years. Has he regretted some of them? Maybe. But will he stop tweeting?](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/64d341d60910c09cbacf656ec5a4d3aeccc30c115b917f83f6fa226e52baaa6b.png)

Consider for a moment, the amount of things Elon Musk has tweeted over the years. Has he regretted some of them? Maybe. But will he stop tweeting?

So much I regret NOT doing rather than mulling over what I had done wrong.

Basically think of it this way: all the things you wished you would have done, those are the things your heart really wanted all along.

Adopt a new mentality.

Every time you need to make a big decision in life, ask yourself: will I regret doing or NOT doing it more?

Most of the time, it will help clarify things real quick.

Regret is a powerful motivator.

Frankly, it isn’t the best way to live your life but it’s a useful razor to help sharpen your thought process and decide faster.

![Learn to use regret as a motivator and it will change your perception of life for the better.](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/c559971d293aeb88eecf8389a9e0beefe30053c6d632fea211032de86ac05932.jpg)

Learn to use regret as a motivator and it will change your perception of life for the better.

If you can’t find the positive motivation to push yourself, use regret to fuel it then.

Stimulate your body and mind to perform, take action and get moving by using regret to whip your butt.

Manipulate regret as fuel to start and do greater things.

Don’t let it be the fire that consumes your essence and destroy your will to fight.

Remember, regret is fuel, not the fire.

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> How are your 2023 plans coming along?

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#startups #business #startupx #growth #success #socialmedia #goals #entrepreneurship #strategy #eth #btc #crypto #goals #newyear #regrets #fire #newmentality #2023

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*Originally published on [Durwin](https://paragraph.com/@durwin/regrets-are-fuel-not-the-fire)*