It seems we impose ideals on ourselves while Life has other plans for us. When Life takes over and kicks our ideals and expectations to the curb, we decide we have failed and live in regret. Wrong!
Did you do the best you could with what you had? Did you learn from your experiences and become a better person for the next time? Were your ideals fantasy or reality based? Were they YOUR ideals, or did someone else infuse you with them?
My "grandma" Lillian, who lived to 105, always repeated, "When your desires exceed your expectations, then you desires will exceed your expectations!"
If you want a more entertaining version, watch Albert Brooks' DEFENDING YOUR LIFE.
A song : Karen Akers Life (is how the time goes by).
Yul Brunner It's A Puzzlement from the King and I.
It's philosophical and much more of a complex mystery than "I screwed up, made a mess, and now live in regret."
Piaf Non, je ne regrette rien. I regret nothing.