Drawing from my experience and my writing, here are four best affirmations for regret.
On Regret
Woulda, coulda, shoulda.
Yesterday, last week, five years ago.
Regret is about my disappointment with my past.
Regret wants a re-do, for life to be different.
Regret anchors me in the past where change and motion forward are not possible.
Regret wants to punish and belittle.
Instead, I use the pain of regret as the fuel for new choices moving forward.
The future is open!
Affirmation #1:
I forgive myself for punishing myself.
Nothing is gained by self-punishment.
Punishment stops learning.
Learning fuels choice and stepping forward.
Acknowledge the push to punish.
Ask myself why?
Use what comes forward to learn about myself and how I want to shift myself and my life.
Forgiveness allows the space for me to understand, turning from the past, to the present now, ready for the future of my being and becoming.
I willingly affirm:
I forgive myself for punishing myself.
Affirmation #2:
In each moment, I do my best.
Truly absorb this: In each moment, I do the best I can.
Sure, looking back, I might have made a different decision.
But the me in this moment is expanded beyond the me of the past.
If I hold myself back because of self-judgment, then that’s my choice.
But not my only choice.
Remember, in each moment I can choose:
In each moment, I do my best.
Affirmation #3:
In each moment, I make the best choice for myself.
There is no good reason to undermine myself.
And if I am, I have a choice in how I respond.
I can choose unforgiving criticism.
I can choose debilitating harshness.
I can punish myself for perceived failure.
But, why do this?
Stay stuck?
Stay critical?
The path to change claims choice.
The path to change is positive assessment of me.
And in this moment, I make the best choice I can for me!
Absolutely, I affirm:
In each moment, I make the best choice for myself.
Affirmation #4:
I live my life in this moment.
The power and balance of who I am in this moment.
Here, now.
The past pulls me backward with blame and regret.
The future freezes me in fear and anxiety.
My ability to choose, to let go, to learn is focused in this moment.
Be here, now.
I live my life in this moment.
In this moment, I acknowledge:
I live my life in this moment.
To dive deeper into the spiritual practice of affirmations, begin here: What is an Affirmation?