Everyone has regrets in life, but how you move on from your past unfavorable choices can make a big difference in your life.
Being able to take ownership of your mistakes will ensure you learn important lessons that will prevent you from repeating those same mistakes again.
These quotes about regrets will help you take a step back and evaluate your decisions in your life and come to peace with the possible mistakes you have made.
Our List Of 99 Of The Best Regret Quotes
Quotes on Life and Regrets
1. “If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.” – William J. Clinton
2. “We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.” – Steve Maraboli
3. “We all do things we desperately wish we could undo. Those regrets just become part of who we are, along with everything else. To spend time trying to change that, well, it's like chasing clouds.” – Libba Bray
4. “We don't have to be defined by the things we did or didn't do in our past. Some people allow themselves to be controlled by regret. Maybe it's a regret, maybe it's not. It's merely something that happened. Get over it.” – Pittacus Lore
5. “If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world.” – Mercedes Lackey
6. “Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can't build on it; it's only good for wallowing in.” – Katherine Mansfield
7. “The only things I regret, and the only things I'll ever regret are things I didn't do. In the end, that's what we mourn. The paths we didn't take. The people we didn't touch.” – Scott Spencer
8. “Don't live your life regretting yesterday. Live your life so tomorrow you won't regret today.” – Catherine Pulsifer
9. “Don't allow yourself to become one who, nearing death, regrets what you might have done if only you had taken a few risks We each have a purpose in life.” – Gillian Stokes
10. “Regrets are not inherited. Regrets are those elements of life that seek to undermine our enthusiasm and our willingness to assume a life filled with new discoveries and the attainment of goals. Let not your regrets be your undoing but instead your vehicle to learn from what did not work.” – Byron Pulsifer
11. “Never regret anything from your past because one day, you'll look back and thank it for hurting you so much that you decided to become a stronger human being.” – Faith Star
12. “Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.” – Unknown
13. “A great source of calamity lies in regret and anticipation; therefore a person is wise who thinks of the present alone, regardless of the past or future.” – Oliver Goldsmith
14. “We cannot always change what has happened to us, but we can change how we react and how we live in the future. Living with no regrets is living successfully.” – Dr. Ellen Taricani
15. “Regret, remorse, sorrow all emotions that can result in negative feelings. Only you can change your emotions to positive ones, you cannot change the past but you can change the future” – Catherine Pulsifer
16. “Stop fretting about past decisions. They have provided valuable wisdom. Go forward without fear or regret.” – Paul Martens
17. “Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience.” – Victoria Holt
18. “When tomorrow comes this day will be gone forever, but I shall hold something which I have traded for it. It may be no more than a memory, but if it is a worthy one I shall not regret the price.” – Unknown
19. “Regret is an odd emotion because it comes only upon reflection. Regret lacks immediacy, and so its power seldom influences events when it could do some good.” – William O'Rourke
20. “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 Harris
21. “There is no point in regretting for things that have happened but it makes a big difference to think about a solution or idea to change the unexpected outcome or effects of the choices made.” – Lindsay Hallie
22. “First, imagine taking the potentially regret – producing path of inaction. Then imagine what the very best outcome would be were you to take this risk. By picturing both scenarios in advance, you can avoid the regret of what might have been.” – Wayne Dyer
23. “When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell
24. “I don't dwell in the past; I don't wallow in old events and emotions. I don't waste time on regret. No use going over and over the details of what already happened.” – Yanni
25. “It is not the experience of Today that drives a person mad, it is the remorse or bitterness of something which happened Yesterday and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring.” – Unknown
26. “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.” – Jim Rohn
27. “If we don't deal with the roots of our regrets, if we don't make the choice to start over, the costs of what we're missing out on can be enormous and will accrue exponentially over time.” – Dave Ferguson
28. “There is no need to lament on the bygone failures, instead concentrate on things that you can change and let other things take their own course.” – Robert Gallagher
29. “The longer our trail of regrets, the more we tend to value the importance of making wise decisions.” – Bob Santos
30. “Most of us have had regrets and recognize how they can hold us back or keep us stuck in life and relationships. Getting past “the Past” is important for anyone desiring to live beyond mistakes and the problems they make.” – Ron Neff
31. “Many people choose to dwell on their failures. This leads to unnecessary worrying, regret, shame, and stress. Instead of dwelling on the past, you can reflect on your experiences and use negative situations as a learning experience.” – Morris Pratt
32. “Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh.” – Henry David Thoreau
33. “I would much rather have regrets about not doing what people said, than regretting not doing what my heart led me to and wondering what life had been like if I'd just been myself.” – Brittany Renee
Regret Quotes About Love
34. “Looking back, I have this to regret . . . that too often when I loved, I did not say so.” – David Grayson
35. “The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you love them.” – Unknown
36. “A moment in life – followed by an eternity of situations to grow from or regret – is the reality that love is not about winning or losing, but simply to survive.” – William E. Lewis
37. “Never take anyone for granted…we never seem to realize what we have until it is no longer ours then it becomes the only thing we want.” – Unknown
38. “When someone you love says goodbye you can stare long and hard at the door they closed and forget to see all the doors God has open in front of you.” – Shannon Adler
39. “Don’t regret knowing the people who came into your life. Good people give you happiness. Bad ones give you experience. The worst ones give you lessons and the best people give you memories.” – Unknown
40. “In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take, the relationships we were afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long to make.” – Lewis Carroll
41. “Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” – Kahlil Gibran
42. “There was once a love which I did not learn to cherish, it was only when I lost it that I felt extreme regret. There is no worse experience than such feeling.” – Unknown
43. “Don't make my mistake. Don't let yourself be so angry that you stop loving. Because one day you'll wake up from that anger, and the person you love will be gone.” – Dawson's Creek
44. “Trust before you love, know before you judge, commit before you promise, forgive before you forget and appreciate before you regret.” – Unknown
45. “The only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or humiliated. And the only thing people regret is that they didn't live boldly enough, that they didn't invest enough heart, didn't love enough. Nothing else really counts at all.” – Ted Hughes
46. “When it's gone, you'll know what a gift love was. You'll suffer like this. So go back and fight to keep it.” – Ian McEwan
47. “When you loved someone and had to let them go, there will always be that small part of yourself that whispers, “What was it that you wanted and why didn't you fight for it?” – Shannon Alder
48. “Sadly enough, the most painful goodbyes are the ones that are left unsaid and never explained.” – Johnathan Harnisch
49. “Mistakes we make in the past sometimes keep us connected. Heartache sometimes keeps us connected.” – Jacqueline Simon Gunn
50. “Never ignore a person who loves and cares for you, because one day you may realize that you’ve lost the moon while counting the stars.” – Anonymous
51. “Never regret anything you have done with a sincere affection; nothing is lost that is born of the heart.” – Basil Rathbone
52. “What hurts more; the pain of ‘what ifs’, or the pain of rejection?” – Izey Odiase
53. “Hurting people you love is the heaviest kind of regret.” ― Charlotte Eriksson
54. “‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” – Alfred Lord Tennyson
55. “The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.” – G.K. Chesterson
56. “And perhaps some will never understand, it is mostly the farewells that unite us, and last in our memory forever, even more than the first meeting.” – Mimi Novic
57. “I wish I could turn back the clock. I’d find you sooner and love you longer.” – Unknown
58. “Unforgiving hearts die in regret.” – Unknown
59. ” Who knows how long I've loved you, you know I love you still. Will I wait a lonely lifetime? If you want me to I will.” – The Beatles
60. “There's this place in me where your fingerprints still rest, your kisses still linger, and your whispers softly echo. It's the place where a part of you will forever be a part of me.” – Gretchen Kemp
61. “Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.” – Washington Irvin
62. “What the heart has once owned and had, it shall never lose.” – Henry Ward Beecher
63. “People should not judge failed love affairs as failed experiences, but as part of the growth process. Something does not have to end well for it to have been one of the most valuable experiences of a lifetime.” – Ethel Person
64. “To love and win is the best thing; to love and lose, the next best.” – William Thackeray
65. “An act of love that fails is just as much a part of the divine life as an act of love that succeeds, for love is measured by fullness, not by reception.” – Harold Loukes
66. “Never take someone for granted. Hold every person close to your heart because you might wake up one day and realize that you've lost a diamond while you were too busy collecting stones.” – Unknown
Family Regret Quotes
67. “Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason.” – Unknown
68. “I have learned that I should be careful with the words I choose to say when I am angry because later, those words always leave a huge wound of regrets in my heart besides hurting the loved ones.” – Nino Varsimashvili
69. “Many times, the decisions we make effect and hurt our closest friends and family the most. I have a lot of regrets in that regard. But God has forgiven me, which I am very thankful for. It has enabled me to forgive myself and move forward one day at a time.” – Lex Luger
70. “Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted.” – Paul Pearshall
71. “At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more race, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with your family.” – Barbara Bush
72. “No human on his deathbed ever regretted having spent too much time with his children.” – George Stamatis
73. “Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the
unlived life of the parent.” – C.G. Jung
74. “People die all the time. Life is a lot more fragile than we think. So you should treat others in a way that leaves no regrets. Fairly, and if possible, sincerely. It's too easy not to make the effort, then weep and wring your hands after the person dies.” – Haruki Murakami
75. “Your children make it impossible to regret your past. They're its finest fruits. Sometimes the only ones.” ― Anna Quindlen
76. “Listen earnestly to anything your children want to tell you, no matter what. If you don’t listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won’t tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff.” – Catherine M. Wallace
77. “Family is the most important thing in the world.” – Princess Diana
78. “If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them and half as much money.” – Abigail Van Buren
79. “Let us make one point, that we meet each other with a smile, when it is difficult to smile. Smile at each other, make time for each other in your family.” – Mother Theresa
80. “The best inheritance a parent can give to their children is a few minutes of their time each day.” – M. Grundler
81. “Love your family. Spend time, be kind, and serve one another. Make no room for regrets. Tomorrow is not promised and today is short.” – Unknown
82. “Think of your family today and every day thereafter, don’t let the busy world of today keep you from showing how much you love and appreciate your family.” – Josiah
83. “Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs. The ones you accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what.” – Unknown
84. “Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible — the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.” – Virginia Satir
85. “You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.” – Frederick Buechner
86. “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” – Henry Ward Beecher
87. “Parents were the only ones obligated to love you; from the rest of the world you had to earn it.” – Ann Brashares
88. “That’s what people do who love you. They put their arms around you and love you when you’re not so lovable.” – Deb Caletti
89. “To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.”
– Confucius
90. “Sometimes the best families are the ones God builds using unexpected pieces of our hearts.” – Melanie Shankle
91. “I think people that have a brother or sister don’t realize how lucky they are. Sure, they fight a lot, but to know that there’s always somebody there, somebody that’s family.” – Trey Parker
92. “While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” – Angela Schwindt
93. “The love of family and the admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege.” – Charles Kuralt
94. “No matter what you’ve done for yourself or for humanity, if you can’t look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?” – Elbert Hubbard
95. “Always kiss your children goodnight – even if they’re already asleep.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
96. “Family faces are magic mirrors looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future.” – Gail Lumet Buckley
97. “In time of test, family is best.” – Burmese Proverb
98. “A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.” – Agatha Christie
99. “Everyone needs a house to live in, but a supportive family is what builds a home.” – Anthony Liccione
If you are living with regret, whether it is in your life, in a relationship, or with your family, hopefully, you can find some inspiration in these quotes to help get you through those hard feelings.
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