Regrets, We Have A Few

There are times when we all look back on past decisions that weren’t our finest. But if you’re stuck in a rut of regret, here’s how to finally leave it all behind

- Amanda Riley-Jones

Did you know that we spend 7,994 hours of our lives on average dwelling on regrets? The road less travelled seems to trouble us the most. A 2020 KP Nuts survey found that 79 per cent of people wish they’d taken more risks and almost a quarter still hold a torch for an old flame. And a survey by stationery provider, A Loving Tribute, revealed that the biggest regret for over-65s was not doing more to stay fit and healthy.

Tsol Keoshgerian, 55, is director of a printing company and lives in Sussex.

“I didn’t follow my dream”

“I was in the school football team and dreamed of going professional. When scouts came to our school, they said I had the potential to progress to a semi-professional or professional career. But there were constant arguments about football at home. I’m Armenian and had a strict upbringing. My parents pressured me to become a doctor or lawyer.

“Then I lost my discipline too. At 18, I succumbed to a culture of drinking and smoking and it affected my fitness and stamina.

I lost a bit of magic and never made more than a decent local club player. I enjoy my work and I’ve done well. But the regrets came when I was 30-something and married with kids. When I meet new people, I now tell them “I was a good footballer once”.

“What makes it more complicated is that my father died after I spent a couple of years cross with him for blocking the one thing I wanted to do. Had he lived on, we would have had time to work through it.”