---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I look back on those days and regret none…"
description: "\"“I look back on those days and regret none of it, not the risks, not the shame, not the total lack of foresight.”\" — André Aciman"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/andre-aciman-459_regret_i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-non_2115163.png"
---

#  I look back on those days and regret none of it, not the…

![“I look back on those days and regret none of it, not the risks, not the shame, not the total lack of foresight.” quote by André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/andre-aciman-459_regret_i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-non_2115163.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/andre-aciman-459_regret_i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-non_2115163.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/andre-aciman-459_regret_i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-non_2115163.png)

> ““I look back on those days and regret none of it, not the risks, not the shame, not the total lack of foresight.””

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker looks back without regret, accepting risks, shame, and lack of foresight as part of life's journey.

**In simple terms:** No regret for past choices despite risks and shame.

Key Takeaway

Embrace past choices without regret.

Themes

regret reflection acceptance

Mood

nostalgic thoughtful

Type

philosophical reflective

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- memory
- decision making

Key Concepts

life lessons risk taking

Questions to Reflect On

- What lessons did you learn from those risks?
- Do you see any lingering effects?

A Different Perspective

It may ignore harmful consequences of reckless actions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/)

## Related quotes

> [“I look back on those days and regret none of it, not the risks, not the shame, not the total lack of foresight. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-none-of-it-not-the-risks-not-the/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [The only thing you live to regret are the risks you didn't take](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-scott/the-only-thing-you-live-to-regret-are-the-risks-you-didn-t-take/)

Zachary Scott

> [Let us not have puny thoughts. Let us think on a greater scale. Let us not have those of the future decry our smallness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-murie/let-us-not-have-puny-thoughts-let-us-think-on-a-greater-scale-let-us/)

Adolph Murie

> [“At the end of our lives, we mostly regret the risks we didn't take, the dreams we didn't do and the love we failed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/at-the-end-of-our-lives-we-mostly-regret-the-risks-we-didn-t-take-the/)

[Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/)

> [The only things in life you regret, Are the risks that you didn't take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-things-in-life-you-regret-are-the-risks-that-you-didn-t-take/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> ["There’s no such thing as mistakes – only a lack of foresight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/there-s-no-such-thing-as-mistakes-only-a-lack-of-foresight/)

[Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/)

> [Seeking revenge: what a lack of foresight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-clifford-barney/seeking-revenge-what-a-lack-of-foresight/)

[Natalie Clifford Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-clifford-barney/)

> [The only things in life I regret, are the risks that I didn't take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-things-in-life-i-regret-are-the-risks-that-i-didn-t-take/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“God punishes sins, but the world I see only punishes lack of foresight and blunders.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilia-pardo-baz-n/god-punishes-sins-but-the-world-i-see-only-punishes-lack-of-foresight/)

Emilia Pardo Bazán

> [Of course I do not regret the Bond days, I regret that sadly heroes in general are depicted with guns in their hands, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-moore/of-course-i-do-not-regret-the-bond-days-i-regret-that-sadly-heroes-in/)

[Roger Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-moore/)

> [“I ask why more than I should, some days I regret the decisions I make and most mornings I wake up on edge. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/i-ask-why-more-than-i-should-some-days-i-regret-the-decisions-i-make/)

[Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/)

> [I hate getting close to people these days, I always regret caring too much, doing too much...feeling too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-getting-close-to-people-these-days-i-always-regret-caring-too/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I hate getting close to people these days, I always regret sharing too much, caring too much, doing too much, feeling too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-getting-close-to-people-these-days-i-always-regret-sharing-too/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [To be honest though, I hate getting close to people these days, I always regret caring too much, doing too much, feeling too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-honest-though-i-hate-getting-close-to-people-these-days-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Some days I regret wording things the way I did in the heat of the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissy-teigen/some-days-i-regret-wording-things-the-way-i-did-in-the-heat-of-the/)

[Chrissy Teigen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissy-teigen/)

## More by André Aciman

> [Don't all writers have a hidden nerve, call it a secret chamber, something irreducibly theirs, which stirs their prose and makes it tick and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/don-t-all-writers-have-a-hidden-nerve-call-it-a-secret-chamber/)

[Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [“I wanted him to remember the morning on Monet's berm when I'd kissed him not the first but the second time and given him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-wanted-him-to-remember-the-morning-on-monet-s-berm-when-i-d-kissed/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [Rituals are how we step into our private field of dreams, a small Elysium all our own. Rituals are made not just for us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/rituals-are-how-we-step-into-our-private-field-of-dreams-a-small/)

[Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [“I desperately wanted to give him something. By contrast, taking seemed so bland, so facile, so mechanical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-desperately-wanted-to-give-him-something-by-contrast-taking-seemed/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [“The man who'll lay the last stone here isn't even born yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-man-who-ll-lay-the-last-stone-here-isn-t-even-born-yet/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [Proust is interested in minutiae because life, as he sees it, is seldom ever about things but about our impression of things, not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/proust-is-interested-in-minutiae-because-life-as-he-sees-it-is-seldom/)

[Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [“Well, since you're not going to do anything with me—can you at least read me a story? I'd settle for that. I wanted him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/well-since-you-re-not-going-to-do-anything-with-me-can-you-at-least/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [“This is heaven.” And I wouldn’t hear him say another word for at least an hour. There was nothing I loved more in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/this-is-heaven-and-i-wouldn-t-hear-him-say-another-word-for-at-least/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [“He loved the sticky taste. What had I done? I told him and pointed to the bruised evidence sitting on my desk. “Let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/he-loved-the-sticky-taste-what-had-i-done-i-told-him-and-pointed-to/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [“When had they separated us, you and me, Oliver? And why did I know it, and why didn't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/when-had-they-separated-us-you-and-me-oliver-and-why-did-i-know-it/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [“As we were swimming back, he asked as though it were an afterthought, “Are you going to hold last night against me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-we-were-swimming-back-he-asked-as-though-it-were-an-afterthought/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [“To be with you. To be with you, Oliver. With or without my bathing suit. To be with you on my bed. In your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/to-be-with-you-to-be-with-you-oliver-with-or-without-my-bathing-suit/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [“I thought I could ever want another living soul, gently, softly, and, with the kindness one Jew extends to another, work his way into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-thought-i-could-ever-want-another-living-soul-gently-softly-and/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [“Oliver: But there's the catch: you're still twenty years younger than those gathered around you, which is why I can be twenty-four in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/oliver-but-there-s-the-catch-you-re-still-twenty-years-younger-than/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [I cannot write if there is a sense of plenitude. I have to hypothesize that there is a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-cannot-write-if-there-is-a-sense-of-plenitude-i-have-to-hypothesize/)

[Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

[Explore all 527 André Aciman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

## More Regret quotes

> [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Never fight on the wrong side; you might win but the burden of guilt is more than a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-salan/never-fight-on-the-wrong-side-you-might-win-but-the-burden-of-guilt/)

[Lilian Salan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-salan/)

> [I don't regret burning bridges. I regret that some people weren't on those bridges when I burned them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-regret-burning-bridges-i-regret-that-some-people-weren-t-on/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“As parents who make every effort we can to raise our children in loving security, we do not need to feel more guilt than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/as-parents-who-make-every-effort-we-can-to-raise-our-children-in/)

[Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/)

> [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/)

[Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/)

> [I have no regrets in my life. I think that everything happens to you for a reason. The hard times that you go through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mero/i-have-no-regrets-in-my-life-i-think-that-everything-happens-to-you/)

[Rita Mero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mero/)

> [When the Lord Jesus Christ became my surety . . . He went to Calvary's cross, and all my guilt was charged against Him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-allen-ironside/when-the-lord-jesus-christ-became-my-surety-he-went-to-calvary-s/)

[Henry Allen Ironside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-allen-ironside/)

> [“Even in the miserable guilt we feel over our beastlike insensitivity, the glory of God shines. If God were not gloriously desirable, why would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/even-in-the-miserable-guilt-we-feel-over-our-beastlike-insensitivity/)

[John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/)

> [“For those filled with regret, perhaps the most needful exercise of proactivity is to realize that past mistakes are also out there in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/for-those-filled-with-regret-perhaps-the-most-needful-exercise-of/)

[Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/)

> [I would rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-ball/i-would-rather-regret-the-things-that-i-have-done-than-the-things/)

[Lucille Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-ball/)

> [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/)

[Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/)

> [Having no regrets is very unrealistic. Everyone has that awkward or embarrassing moment they wish they could take back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayden-hayes/having-no-regrets-is-very-unrealistic-everyone-has-that-awkward-or/)

[Jayden Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayden-hayes/)

> [I always had a sort of niggling regret that we didn't come do stuff in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-fielding/i-always-had-a-sort-of-niggling-regret-that-we-didn-t-come-do-stuff/)

[Noel Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-fielding/)

> [I am not perfect by any means and ill be the first to admit I make plenty of mistakes but I wont make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-not-perfect-by-any-means-and-ill-be-the-first-to-admit-i-make/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/)

[Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/)

[Browse all 9,960 Regret quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I look back on those days and regret none of it, not the risks, not the shame, not the total lack of foresight.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "André Aciman"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-none-of-it-not-the-risks-not-the-2/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Regret"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-none-of-it-not-the-risks-not-the-2/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/andre-aciman-459_regret_i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-non_2115163.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/andre-aciman-459_regret_i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-non_2115163.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/andre-aciman-459_regret_i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-non_2115163.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I look back on those days and regret none of it, not the risks, not the shame, not the total lack of…” — André Aciman",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "André Aciman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I look back on those days...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-none-of-it-not-the-risks-not-the-2/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-look-back-on-those-days-and-regret-none-of-it-not-the-risks-not-the-2/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
