What is regret? According to the dictionary, it is a feeling of sorrow associated with something that you did or that you didn’t do, or didn’t complete. Let’s examine the regret that may result from something you did. It can be as trivial as a bad play in a scrabble game leading to a loss that should have been avoided. It can also be any action to which the balm and salve of saying sorry may perform the useful work of remediation.
In the world of investments, regret is quite common. As any regular investor knows, things don’t always work out. Here, the significant metric comes from holding an expected outcome in mind, say that a stock purchased will achieve a certain price level. When that outcome is confounded, then other scenarios play out such as: why did I make the investment at that time?; look at how other investors have performed better than me; I could have paid more attention and squeezed out a better return, or simply; I should have held onto the stock for longer to get a better price. Also, investors don’t always have a disciplined exit price to achieve and even if they do, they may regret selling too early as other prices emerge.
The regret that arises from what has not been done or remains incomplete is a different proposition, however. Often this can occur in later life during a phase of wistful reflection on the deep past: life partners chosen or not chosen; careers that were considered but not followed through, or simply the job transfer that was offered and then rejected. It can all sound so much simpler and clearer in retrospect: “if only I had….”, you think to yourself.
There is something really interesting about this type of regret; and very positive for people in their retirement who have time to spend in a way that they didn’t when working full time. In retirement, time is a rich resource of great value.
You can do something about these regrets of inaction. If, for example, you regret that you stopped playing the violin when you were eleven, then you can take it up again. If you never travelled to those foreign countries you wanted to, then now you can. Of course it’s not always easy to sit and work with these regrets. A good counsellor or coach can help.
Don’t dwell on things you wish you could have done – make the most of your retirement and turn regrets into realities.
