REGRET MANAGEMENT 2

Heal a Fractured World Column

                      Chibu Ndubuisi 06/02/2017

                    Regret Management (Part Two)

Peace be to you.

'The follies which a man regrets most in his life, are those which he

didn't commit when he had the opportunity'. Helen Rowland.

How different will your life be or would have been had you done what you regret not doing?

It is said that 'he who does not move does not notice his chains'. Equally true

is that he who takes no action  does not notice how inaction has bound

him down. Take a step and free yourself from the judgemental

eyes of others.

What are your 'Compelling and Restraining forces'? What pushes you?

What urges and triggers you? What holds you bound? The simple

antidote to regret is to take action. When you act, it deepens understanding

of what works and what doesn't work. Lessons of everyday life are

not learnt in the closet. A sense of taking responsibility appears central

to the management of regrettable experiences. The responsible life

is a life that responds. You cannot heal a fractured world sitting idly,

you heal a fractured world acting out scripts.

Today we are held bonded and blinded by many religious, cultural and political

differences that undermines our common humanity.

The biblical example of Lazarus and the Rich man is a clear example

of regret of inaction which has a more lasting pangs of pain.

Why didn't I try at least? Such plea can be avoided by trying now.

Zeigarnik effect is a term used in psychology to explain that people

tend to remember incomplete task and unrealized goals better than

those task that have been finished, accomplished and resolved.

What are those incomplete task and unrealised goals

holding you bound as a result of inaction? To heal a fractured world,

your assigned task must be completed.  There is no vacation from responsibility.

A vital understanding of these linkages of responsibility and inertia closes

the gap of action and inaction. The women who disobeyed Pharaoh's immoral

order and the Military men who refused to fight a war on terror without weapons

acted by disobeying an immoral order. You can disobey that immoral order

prompting you not to act responsibly when the need arises.

To manage regret keep acting responsibly.

Peace be with you.