No regrets. Really?

It’s good to have regrets. Regrets are part of life. The ambition to live without any mistakes and corresponding regrets is close to the definition of insanity.

Therefore, I doubt people who walk around with tattoos, stating ‘no regrets.’

We all have regrets, moments when we wish to turn back time a little. Regrets matter in life. They help us learn and make better decisions the next time, but only when we decide to do the work and reflect.

In his book The Power of Regret, Daniel Pink discusses the ‘no regret’ people. The biggest requests for tattoo removal are to remove the name of a (former) loved one or the ‘no regret’ tattoo. And it’s not just the tattoo people regret.

It’s about the fact that regrets have emerged, even with the tattooed intention to live without regrets.

Daniel Pink argues that regrets are good. They lead to reflection, lessons learned, and growth.

If you intend to live life without regrets, you won’t be experimenting, curious, and stepping out of your comfort zone.

You won’t learn and grow without regrets.

So, let’s make it personal. I have two personal regrets I’d like to discuss in this insight.

One regret I have is the way I started my student time. Far away (from a Dutch distance perspective) from home and parents, I quickly discovered the side effects of student life. I lost focus when I was a student and partied a little too much.

I completed my first year of economics in two and a half years and got really close to being kicked out. I wasn’t a bad student. When I truly focused, I completed every subject. Being focused and responsible was the problem.

But I enjoyed life — a lot.

Once I received the notification that I would be kicked out soon, I realized why I was there. I didn’t want to go into the army (I was later rejected because of a collarbone complication), so I started to be accountable for my growth.

My last three years, I managed nicely in a little over three years. But I had to work hard. Friends of mine who were more clever had time to party and…