Regret builds character?

Question

I heard that in a movie... i never understood it really until now. What do you think about it? Should you forget your regrrets, or remember them...

Answer 1

In the movie Big Kahuna, Bob replies “You mean I have to do something I’ll regret in order to have character?”.

Whatever your regret is, it is likely that your perception has changed. Your regret has probably grown through the years. What you thought was okay before might have been due to being young and immature. What you did years ago is no longer okay with you today. I would take it even further by suggesting that the greater the regret, the greater the character it can create. The older we get, the greater our regret becomes. It becomes heavier to carry. At the end of the day, it is what we do with regret that creates real character.

Character comes when we face the fact that we cannot change what we did. When we realize that we cannot buy another chance. When we come to understand that we cannot make things better again. When we carry the truth that what was done cannot ever be changed. The damage will always be done. Character means genuine remorse. To live with that means character. Character also comes when you gain understanding for others who may have made poor decisions. Character is condemning an act, but not necessarily the person who committed it. If you have character, you can and will extend sympathy to those who have remorse. And most importantly, if you have character, you can forgive others.

Answer 2

Regrets are ways of teaching us ethical behavior. Without regrets, we would probably be sociopaths.
The thing is to feel the regret, make the situation better if you can, and then vow to learn from that.

If the regret is misplaced guilt, for just being Human, then one is being too hard on oneself.

Answer 3

I disagree. It's not regret that builds character, but adversity. To regret is to keep on looking backwards. The idea is to learn from our mistakes and forgive ourselves and then move on. To wallow in regret is always counter-productive.