You won’t regret the men you never killed, but you will regret the women you passed up.
—Bernard Cornwell (b.1944) British Novelist
Failure is never as scary as regret.
—Unknown
Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.
—George Halas
Better by far you should forget and smile, than that you should remember and be sad.
—Christina Rossetti (1830–94) English Poet, Hymn Writer
I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations—one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it—you will regret both.
—Soren Kierkegaard (1813–55) Danish Philosopher, Theologian
Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.
—George Sand (1804–76) French Novelist, Dramatist
It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.
—Jackie Joyner-Kersee (b.1962) American Athlete
Let the dead Past bury its dead.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Let’s not burden our remembrance with a heaviness that’s gone.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Regretting the past is like chasing after the wind.
—Russian Proverb
Regrets are the natural property of gray hairs.
—Charles Dickens (1812–70) English Novelist
A few moments of misplaced values can mean a lifetime of regret.
—Indian Proverb
Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845) English Clergyman, Essayist, Wit
The only causes of regret are laziness, outbursts of temper, hurting others, prejudice, jealousy, and envy.
—Germaine Greer (b.1939) Australia Academic, Journalist, Scholar, Writer
I regret the passing of the studio system. I was very appreciative of it because I had no talent.
—Lucille Ball (1911–89) American Actor, Comedian, Model
You’ll seldom experience regret for anything that you’ve done. It is what you haven’t done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear. Do it! Develop an appreciation for the present moment. Seize every second of your life and savor it. Value your present moments. Using them up in any self-defeating ways means you’ve lost them forever.
—Wayne Dyer (1940–2015) American Self-Help Author
Often regret is very false and displaced, and imagines the past to be totally other than it was.
—John O’Donohue (1956–2008) Irish Priest, Hegelian Philosopher
Every noble work is bound to face problems and obstacles. It is important to check your goal and motivation thoroughly. One should be very truthful, honest, and reasonable. One’s actions should be good for others, and for oneself as well. Once a positive goal is chosen, you should decide to pursue it all the way to the end. Even if it is not realized, at least there will be no regret.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Leader, Civil Rights Advocate, Author
Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.
—Sydney J. Harris (1917–86) American Essayist, Drama Critic
Hindsight is always 20/20.
—Billy Wilder (1906–2002) American Filmmaker
Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Short-story Writer, Journalist
If you have tried to do something and failed, you are vastly better off than if you had tried to do nothing and succeeded. You must never regret what might have been. The past that did not happen is as hidden from us as the future we cannot see.
—Richard Martin Stern (1915–2001) American Mystery Novelist
To regret one’s own experiences is to arrest one’s own development. To deny one’s own experiences is to put a lie into the lips of one’s life. It is no less than a denial of the soul.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Regret, like a tail, comes at the end.
—African Proverb
The past will not tell us what we ought to do, but it will what we ought to avoid.
—Jose Ortega y. Gasset (1883–1955) Spanish Critic, Journalist, Philosopher
There is no greater sorrow than to recall a happy time in the midst of wretchedness.
—Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) Italian Poet, Philosopher
I demolish my bridges behind me … then there is no choice but forward.
—Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930) Norwegian Explorer, Biologist, Oceanographer
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.
—John Wayne (1907–79) American Academy Award-winning Actor, Western Icon
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