If You Want to Avoid Regret, Read and Reread These Wise Quotes

Regret is a heavy burden—one that often comes from choices made

in moments of haste, fear, or shortsightedness.

While we can’t erase the past,

we can learn from the wisdom of those

who’ve walked difficult paths before us.

These quotes, drawn from centuries of human experience,

offer timeless guidance to help you live with intention, courage,

and clarity—so you can look back on your life with pride, not remorse.

Quotes

“In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.” — Lewis Carroll

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” — Mark Twain

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” — H. Jackson Brown Jr.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” — Steve Jobs

“It is better to be alone than to be in bad company.” — George Washington

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” — Joseph Campbell

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk.” — Mark Zuckerberg

“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking.” — William Butler Yeats

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” — Jim Rohn

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” — Søren Kierkegaard

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” — Socrates

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” — Oscar Wilde

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” — Chinese Proverb

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” — Wayne Gretzky

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs

“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.” — Steve Jobs

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Nelson Mandela

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” — Helen Keller

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” — Lao Tzu

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” — Henry David Thoreau

“The best revenge is massive success.” — Frank Sinatra

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.” — Steve Jobs

“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” — Dalai Lama

“Get busy living or get busy dying.” — Stephen King

“You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.” — Brian Tracy

“The mind is everything. What you think you become.” — Buddha

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” — Confucius

“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” — George Addair

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” — Jimmy Dean

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” — Theodore Roosevelt

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” — Abraham Lincoln

“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” — Jordan Belfort

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” — Walt Disney

“Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” — Roy T. Bennett

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” — Theodore Roosevelt

“It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” — Abraham Lincoln

“The greatest wealth is to live content with little.” — Plato

“Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions.” — Dalai Lama

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” — Socrates

“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” — H. Jackson Brown Jr.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson