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Essay on A Decision You Regret

January 1, 2018 by Study Mentor Leave a Comment

The word ‘regret’ means feeling remorse. This word is a very powerful word that sometimes defines a person’s whole life. Regret is a strong feeling that doesn’t easily go away in fact at some points it doesn’t go away at all. Feeling regret about something is not uncommon or unheard of.

Each and every human being at some point in their life has felt regret about one thing or the other. I myself had felt this unpleasant feeling that I am not very fond of. As a matter of fact no person is fond of this unpleasant feeling and yet at some point in their life they have felt it.

However regret with time has turned into a wish that we could have done instead of what we did. This wish is something we always think about and it doesn’t matter that we don’t want to think about it and in our subconscious mind somewhere we are always thinking about it.

Regret is something like I wish I could have handled a situation differently than the way I did in reality. Feeling regret about something that I did is not good at all. In fact, if a person’s life is full of regrets then that person can’t bear himself by thinking about them which impacts the health of that person.

Regret is something that has already occurred in our life and there is no way of going back and correcting it for us.

In my life there are a few situations about which I feel regret and really wish that just somehow I could reverse the time and change what I did. But that is not possible and I have accepted it, well not willingly but as I don’t have a choice but to accept it so I did.

In every person’s life there comes a time when they could have done something better and it does not matter how they handled the situation, there will always be an afterthought about it and it is safe to say that I do have a few situations like that in my life. However there is one thing which I regret the most. I just wish I had enough courage back then to do what I would have done now but at that time I didn’t.

Each and every people have a different definition of love. I have read about it and seen it a thousand times in movies and everything but never really understood it.

I still don’t and that is what I regret about. I once had a chance to understand this beautiful feeling on my own but unfortunately I did not take that chance and because of that till today I haven’t have the luck in experiencing it till today.

Everyone say that love is a beautiful feeling and that everyone deserves to be in love at least once in their whole life and people also say that people get only one chance at everything which makes me wonder that if I have lost my chance to fall in love because of my lack of courage then.

There was a friend in my life who is one of the main reason which made me who I am today. I can proudly say that he was one of my precious people in my life whom I can’t replace ever. However, I am no longer friends with him today because of my stupidity. I will start from the top.

He was my friend who was always there for me whenever I needed and never really asked for anything from me in return. He never asked for anything and because of that I got used to him and up to some extent took him for granted. I am really ashamed of that and regret doing it.

That was the mistake because of which I lost my friend and my only chance to fall in love. He used to understand me so well that he would have understood everything by just looking at me once.

Everything was going fine and yet I never realised that I have taken him for granted. For me I was having an awesome life and never realised the efforts that he put behind so that I can have this awesome life. Then came the fateful day when everything changed.

That day he asked me to meet him. When I reached in the coffee house, he laid his heart out in front of me. I was so stupid that I never saw the signs. I just wished I did because then I would have handled the situation differently.

When I first heard of his proposal, I was shocked and then I declined it quite rudely which I shouldn’t have done at all. After doing that I left. I never realised at that time that what I did. By the time I realised, it was too late and he was gone from my life. I never realised that the way he used to behave was like the way a boyfriend behaves. I do realise it now and I regret it with every breathe I take.

Now I know that the way he loved me, no one can ever love me like that. For him, I was the most important person in his life. He used to get this look in his face each time when he used to see me which reminds me of the way a moon lights up when it sees the sun.

I never realised this fact then but after he left I realised exactly what he did for me. Now I regret everything I did. Now I realise the fact that I could have given him a chance and somewhere, now I feel something for him. I doubt that what I feel for him is love but I can surely say that whatever it is, is something strong because of which I haven’t able to forget it.

It has been a few years since that day but I still remember everything. If I would have handled that situation differently then I have no doubt about the fact that today we would have been the best couple ever. I guess I will never be able to discover this feeling more and will never be able to feel love at that level again. I doubt that in future he will come back to me because it has been years and who knows he may hate me today for what I did. I hate myself for what I did.

Regret is something that is part of a person’s life and I am no different in this case. Without regret a person do not shape the way they are supposed to do. In fact because of the emotion regret, human being matures. I can also say that I have matured because of that incident.

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How to Write College Essay about Regret: Reflect on Mistakes

How to Write an Engaging Essay on Personal Regret

We all experience regret, from the smallest decision to the biggest error of our life. Regret has a way of creeping up on us, making us question our actions.

It is important we avoid letting these feelings fester and grow into something worse, such as bitterness or resentment.

This post has tips that will make it easier to write a college essay on regret and make it a reflective and insightful read.

Why is Your Regret a Good Topic for College Essays?

1. interesting .

Students are often required to write essays containing personal experiences. Such an essay can be extremely interesting and exciting. Even so, describing something that has changed your life or taught you a lesson is quite a good idea.

Many students choose to write about regrets in their lives. Regret can be an excellent topic for an essay because it teaches you so much about yourself and the world around you.

2. Unchangeable facts

A regretful experience shows you that the past is unchangeable.

Regretful experiences teach people many lessons, such as dealing with failure and adapting to adverse situations.

Going through something regretful is often extremely difficult, but it usually pays off in the end because you will have learned something from it.

3. Inspiring

Sharing your regretful experience with others can also be inspiring and helpful to them. Reading about another person’s unfortunate situation can help us realize that we are not alone in our struggles.

It shows that someone is always willing to listen if we need help or advice.

4. Educative

Learning from other people’s mistakes can also help us avoid making our own mistakes. If we can learn from the mistakes of others instead of having to learn from our own mistakes, we will save ourselves a lot of trouble.

You might even want to share your regrets with friends and family.

Does your college essay matter

How to Write a College Essay about a Decision you Regret

1. explain your regret.

Write down the regretful experiences that impacted you and shaped your values, beliefs, or character.

It is important to consider your essay’s tone, style, and voice. The essay’s first sentence should be interesting, engaging, or even exciting. The last sentence should leave a strong impression on the reader.

As you draft, consider your mood. What are you feeling as you write? Are you feeling regretful? Sad? Angry? Or are you feeling happy? If so, how can you express that with language? Use sensory details and imagery to create this mood.

At the same time, think about how your audience might read or react to your story. What emotions will they feel as they read it? What images will they see in their mind as they read your essay’s opening line?

2. Write Intro and Thesis about it

When you are writing an essay and are trying to prove a point, show, or prove something. It is important to use an introduction that states what you are trying to prove.

Writing essays and papers can be very difficult to make the reader believe what you are writing about.

You can use your introduction to tell the reader how you would like them to feel about what you are saying.

The thesis statement is the brief articulation of your paper’s central argument and purpose. You might hear it referred to as simply a “thesis.” Every scholarly paper should have a thesis statement, and strong thesis statements are concise, specific, and arguable.

3. Write Why You Regret it

If you regret something you did, the best way to get over it is to write about it. In this case, you can use your college essay as an opportunity to explain the story behind your mistake and why you have learned from it.

A great regret might have changed your life. It might have influenced who you are as a person today or your future goals. It might even have affected where you end up going to college!

4. Explain the Lessons you picked

Talk about the learning experience rather than just recounting the event itself. Admissions officers read thousands of essays every year, so steer clear of anything that might come across as cliché. For instance, think about how an immigrant story can be enlightening to someone else who recently moved to the States as an immigrant.

Avoid writing about common experiences like scoring the winning goal, losing a championship game, or winning a student election. Instead, focus on specific moments that led to unique growth opportunities in your life.

Here, choose arguments from each side that you can easily oppose or prove false. You must clearly understand what points your opponent will cite and how you can refuse them.

Once again, consider that if there are many such arguments on both sides, you should choose another topic; otherwise, you risk getting stuck in the middle of the work.

What Do you Think about the Regret?

No matter what you decide to do with your life, there will always be something that you could have done differently. There will always be things that you wish you could change. You will always regret something.

Yet, there is nothing wrong with that! Regret is human nature! It is part of what makes us interesting! We are not perfect! And we all make mistakes! We are imperfect people who live in an imperfect world!

9 Examples of Regret Decisions to Write About

People make wrong choices every day. Most of the time, these decisions are small and have little consequence on their lives. But sometimes, these choices lead to serious problems such as losing a job, getting divorced, or going to jail.

If you are looking for regret decision examples to write about in your memoir, here are nine ideas:

1. Getting married too young

2. Not getting married young enough

3. Having children too soon

4. Not having children soon enough

5. Staying in an abusive relationship

6. Going out with someone you shouldn’t have dated

7. Putting off a medical procedure that ultimately led to complications or death

8. Smoking cigarettes or doing drugs over an extended period of time

9. Not putting yourself through college.

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I asked hundreds of people about their biggest life decisions. Here’s what I learned

Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of Technology Sydney

Disclosure statement

Adrian R. Camilleri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Technology Sydney provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

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You make decisions all the time. Most are small. However, some are really big : they have ramifications for years or even decades. In your final moments, you might well think back on these decisions — and some you may regret.

Part of what makes big decisions so significant is how rare they are. You don’t get an opportunity to learn from your mistakes. If you want to make big decisions you won’t regret, it’s important you learn from others who have been there before.

There is a good deal of existing research into what people regret in their lives. In my current project, I decided to approach the problem from the other end and ask people about their life’s biggest decisions.

What are life’s biggest decisions?

I have spent most of my career studying what you might call small decisions: what product to buy , which portfolio to invest in , and who to hire . But none of this research was very helpful when, a few years ago, I found myself having to make some big life decisions.

To better understand what life’s biggest decisions are, I recruited 657 Americans aged between 20 and 80 years old to tell me about the ten biggest decisions in their lives so far.

Each decision was classified into one of nine categories and 58 subcategories. At the end of the survey, respondents ranked the ten decisions from biggest to smallest. You can take the survey yourself here . (If you do, your answers may help develop my research further.)

The following chart shows each of the 58 decision subcategories in terms of how often it was mentioned (along the horizontal axis) and how big the decision was considered in retrospect (along the vertical axis).

In the upper right of the chart we see decisions that are both very significant and very common. Getting married and having a child stand out clearly here.

Other fairly common big life decisions include starting a new job and pursuing a degree. Less common, but among the highest ranked life decisions, include ending a life – such as that of an unborn child or a dying parent – and engaging in self-harm.

Of course, the results depend on who you ask. Men in their 70s have different answers than women in their 30s. To explore this data more deeply, I’ve built a tool that allows you to filter these results down to specific types of respondents.

Read more: How to help take control of your brain and make better decisions

What are life’s biggest regrets?

Much can also be learned about how to make good life decisions by asking people what their biggest regrets are. Regret is a negative emotion you feel when reflecting on past decisions and wishing you had done something differently.

In 2012, Australian caregiver Bronnie Ware wrote a book about her experiences in palliative care. There were five regrets that dying people told her about most often:

I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends
I wish I had let myself be happier.

This anecdotal evidence has received support from more rigorous academic research. For example, a 2011 study asked a nationally representative sample of 270 Americans to describe one significant life regret. The six most commonly reported regrets involved romance (19.3%), family (16.9%), education (14.0%), career (13.8%), finance (9.9%), and parenting (9.0%).

Although lost loves and unfulfilling relationships were the most common regrets, there was an interesting gender difference. For women, regrets about love (romance/family) were more common than regrets about work (career/education), while the reverse was true for men.

What causes regret?

Several factors increase the chances you will feel regret.

In the long run it is inaction — deciding not to pursue something — that generates more regret . This is particularly true for males, especially when it comes to romantic relationships . If only I had asked her out, we might now be happily married.

Poor decisions produce greater regret when it is harder to justify those decisions in retrospect. I really value my friends and family so why did I leave them all behind to take up that overseas job?

Given that we are social beings, poor decisions in domains relevant to our sense of social belonging — such as romantic and family contexts — are more often regretted . Why did I break up my family by having a fling?

Regrets tend to be strongest for lost opportunities : that is, when undesirable outcomes that could have been prevented in the past can no longer be affected. I could have had a better relationship with my daughter if I had been there more often when she was growing up.

The most enduring regrets in life result from decisions that move you further from the ideal person that you want to be . I wanted to be a role model but I couldn’t put the wine bottle down.

Making big life decisions without regrets

These findings provide valuable lessons for those with big life decisions ahead, which is nearly everyone. You’re likely to have to keep making big decisions over the whole course of your life.

The most important decisions in life relate to family and friends. Spend the time getting these decisions right and then don’t let other distractions — particularly those at work — undermine these relationships.

Seize opportunities. You can apologise or change course later but you can’t time travel. Your education and experience can never be lost.

Read more: Running the risk: why experience matters when making decisions

Avoid making decisions that violate your personal values and move you away from your aspirational self. If you have good justifications for a decision now, no matter what happens, you’ll at least not regret it later.

I continue to ask people to tell me about their biggest life decisions. It’s a great way to learn about someone. Once I have collected enough stories, I hope to write a book so that we can all learn from the collective wisdom of those who have been there before.

Decision making

Executive Dean, Faculty of Health

Associate Lecturer - Medical Education (Professional Practice)

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, Earth System Science (School of Science)

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Deputy Social Media Producer

Personal Narrative Essay about Regrets

Regret is the emotion of wishing one had made a different decision because the consequence of the decision was unfavorable. I've felt the emotion of regret many times have you?

Regret is a normal and common emotion everyone has when making decisions. No matter whether you sit back and think before making a decision or just jump to it, there's still an equal chance of you regretting your decision later.

Nobody's perfect, everyone has once made a decision that made them feel a sort of shame, dissatisfaction, disappointment , and even maybe remorse because of past episodes. A past episode that constantly replays in my head and makes me so ashamed and disappointed in myself is the time in middle school me and my best friend were finally accepted in the big friend group with our other school mates . We were so excited it was like our middle school experience was finally going to happen. At times me and my best friend would see how the friend group would constantly mistreat others but we didn't speak up we just let it be but at one point there was no one really left for the friend group to mistreat so they started to turn on my bestfriend and it hurt to see them mistreat the girl that has been my side since day one and I've always had her back but this time it was different because I was so worried about me being bullied next So when my best friend had to suffer alone, I stood quietly.

Although my bestfriend and I are still friends and she always tells me it was fine that I didn't defend her and she says she forgives me every time I apologize for it, that doesn't change the fact that it happened. Looking back at it now there are so many things I could have done to help her. One thing that i shouldve have done was be less selfless. I was too worried about myself being mistreated by the friend group. I turned my back when my friend needed me the most. If I would have just defended her yes i would have gotten mistreated too but at least she wouldn't have been alone.

I've definitely grown a lot since then and it's now more rare if I'm sitting back while something wrong is happening right in front of me. From that episode I definitely learned to speak up for what's right instead of agreeing with the bad things others were doing. Just the way I turned my back on my best friend just for others validation and so that I wouldn't get mistreated too just makes me feel such shame now. I will never not forget this and I know she won't either but that's the way it is. Some regrets can be forgotten if they're simple and even if they're not simple it's fine because no matter what you do differently next time there's still a chance of you regretting it.

Yes, even though regret is an emotion that doesn't always feel too good and at times makes you feel disappointed in yourself at the end of the time regret helps us learn and it makes us realize we need to think carefully when making decisions and it helps us grow and learn from our mistakes.

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It’s Time to Make Peace with Your Regrets

Vasundhara Sawhney

Learn to leave things in the past — where they happened.

For some of us, good things have happened this past year. We’ve been able to spend more time with loved ones, get back into hobbies, and learn new things. But for others, so much has been lost — in work, in social capital, and in life. Many of us are also feeling regret.

Regret is an emotion we’re all familiar with and it surfaces with action as well as inaction. We tend to feel regret about the things we haven’t done (missed opportunities) more intensely than regret about the things we did do.
Regret, like all difficult emotions, is neither intrinsically good nor bad. It is the actions we carry out in response to feeling regret that impact our long-term wellbeing.
To cope with regret and leave the past where it happened we need to: 1) Recognize our feelings and let them out. 2) Look at the past with gratitude rather than the lost opportunity costs. 3) Make regret productive by thinking about what we value and what actions we can take to get closer to the things that matter to us.

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

Do we still need to talk about the many ways this pandemic has impacted our lives? I think I’m past that stage. But I do occasionally sit with myself and feel sad, mostly for something that I’ve lost: time. While chatting with a friend recently — over Zoom, of course — we spoke about how we had made so many plans when 2020 began: We set goals for our careers, booked elaborate travel arrangements, and were prepared to celebrate milestone birthdays, including the day I would meet my nephew and my sister’s first child.

Vasundhara Sawhney is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Emotions & Feelings — Regret

Essays About Regret

Choosing the right regret essay topic.

Choosing the right topic for your regret essay can be a challenging task. Regret is a complex and emotional theme that can be approached from various perspectives. In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of this topic, provide some advice on how to choose the right topic, and offer a detailed list of recommended essay topics to help you get started on your writing journey.

The Importance of the Topic

Regret is a universal human experience that everyone can relate to. It’s an emotion that can have a profound impact on our lives, shaping our decisions and influencing our future actions. Exploring the theme of regret in your essay can help you delve into the complexities of human behavior, decision-making, and the consequences of our actions. It can also provide an opportunity for self-reflection and personal growth.

Choosing a Topic

When choosing a regret essay topic, it’s important to consider your own interests, experiences, and the specific angle you want to explore. Think about what aspect of regret you want to focus on – personal regrets, societal regrets, historical regrets, and so on. Consider the audience you are writing for and the impact you want your essay to have. It’s also helpful to choose a topic that is relevant and timely, to engage your readers and provide valuable insights.

Now, let’s explore some recommended essay topics on regret, divided into categories to help you find the perfect topic for your essay.

Personal Regrets

Reflecting on a decision you regret
The impact of regret on personal relationships
Overcoming regrets and moving forward

Societal Regrets

The consequences of societal regrets on a community or nation
The role of regret in shaping cultural norms and values
Regrets in the context of social justice and activism

Historical Regrets

Exploring historical events that are often regarded with regret
The long-term effects of historical regrets on society
Lessons learned from historical regrets and their relevance today

Regret in Literature and Film

Analysis of regret themes in a specific literary work or film
Comparing the portrayal of regret in different literary genres or film genres
The impact of regret on character development in literature and film

Regret and Psychology

The psychological impact of regret on decision-making
Regret and the process of forgiveness
Strategies for coping with and overcoming regret

Choosing the right regret essay topic is essential for creating a compelling and meaningful piece of writing. By considering your interests, the audience, and the impact you want to make, you can select a topic that resonates with you and engages your readers. Whether you choose to explore personal regrets, societal regrets, historical regrets, or other aspects of regret, remember to approach the topic with empathy, insight, and a critical perspective. With the recommended essay topics provided, you can start your writing journey and explore the complexities of regret from various angles.

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Home / Essay Samples / Life / Regret / My Biggest Regret In Life

My Biggest Regret In Life

Category: Life , Sociology
Topic: Personal Experience , Personal Life , Regret

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