#48: How to Stop Living in Fear of Regret

When you think about what gets in the way of confident decisions, FEAR OF REGRET has to be at the top of the list. 

It's easy for this fear to become a regular roadblock in your decision-making process, too.

Want a thing 👉 Consider decision options 👉 Mentally list out all the many REGRETS you might have, if you choose wrong or things go sideways

Of course, this can be totally useful if done strategically. 

But more often than not, our stress response + emotional experience = more HINDER than "help."

This is how I, personally, ended up living in a constant Fear of Regret that would surge at even the slightest hint of a decision to make. 

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👉HOW TO SAY NO: Get the Crash Course!👈

Here's what I needed to do, to take back control of my decision-making process and stop experiencing such panic about "what I might regret" in the future:

• Practically addressing fears is its own (useful) step in the decision process
• See Episodes #49: "I Need to Decide & Don't Want to Regret It…Now What?" and #16: "The 4 Fear Questions" for more help with this part!

Equally important is separating out your fear of "what might happen" from your fear of how you'll treat yourself

• Most often, our fear of regret is rooted in how badly we fear we'll judge & blame ourselves in the future, should things not go to plan
• You can start changing this pattern by letting go of judgment & blame of your Past Self, for what they "shouldn't have done" 
• When you do that, you can start trusting your Future Self to act in kind (that is...Future You, dealing with whatever consequences from Today's Decision, won't beat YOU up for your choice)

The truth is: Learning to stay on your own team — NO MATTER WHAT — is the key to not living in fear of regret. 

It's definitely a process, not a one-time event. 

But it's work WORTH doing, for the sake of trusting your decisions — and yourself!

More Links:

• Download the FREE Crash Course: How to Say NO to a Request or Invite (without being a terrible person, ruining a relationship, or ending up doing it anyway!)
• Master confident decision-making and get help organizing your thoughts (like in today's episode!) in the Decision Masters Program
• Decision Masters Podcast Ep #16: "The 4 FEAR Questions to Guarantee a Powerful, Authentic Choice"
• Decision Masters Podcast Ep #49: "I Need to Decide & Don't Want to Regret It…Now What?"
• Decision Masters Podcast Ep #36: "#36: 4 Steps to Process Making a Mistake at Work (Personal Story!)"