1 answer
The thing that actually works is accepting that you can't change what you decided back then, but you *can* change what you do now. This sounds like obvious advice, but the key is moving from "I should have done X" to "given what I knew then, that choice made sense." You were making a decision with incomplete information and whatever you were feeling at the time. Rehashing it months later with hindsight doesn't change anything - it just keeps you stuck.
Start by identifying what you're actually regretting. Is it the decision itself, or the outcome? Sometimes we blame ourselves for things that just didn't work out despite a reasonable choice. Separate those two. If you genuinely made a bad call based on ignoring red flags or not thinking it through, extract the actual lesson - what would you do differently next time? - and then let it go. Write it down if that helps. The regret has already done its job if it taught you something.
The last part is redirecting that mental energy. Every time you catch yourself replaying those old decisions, you're using brain cycles that could go toward the next decision, the current problem, or just enjoying right now. It takes practice to notice when you're stuck in that loop and deliberately shift focus, but it gets easier. The past decision isn't the problem anymore - your attention to it is. Move it to the mental filing cabinet labeled "lessons learned" and close the drawer.
Your answer
Log into answer.