Dr. Bill Howatt - No Regrets: How to Live Today for Tomorrows Emotional Well-Being

Incredible! Dr. Howatt offers the tools you need to live a fulfilled life with peace, leaving shame, regret, and questions of what if behind. Insightful and relevant like never before!

DR. MARSHALL GOLDSMITH , Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach; New York Timesbestselling author, The Earned Life, Triggers, and What Got You Here Wont Get You There

Dr. Bill Howatt has assembled a brilliant and practical guide to navigating and overcoming regret and its accompanying sense of overwhelm. Grounded in science but also personal and inspirational, No Regrets will help you move forward in a challenging world regardless of what has happened in your life up until this point.

GREG WELLS , PhD, author, The Ripple Effect

Dr. Bill Howatts book No Regrets takes you on a deep and powerful journey on the importance of simply letting go of any regrets in business and life! The lessons we can learn from regretful experiences are invaluable! This book will take you on a path of being grateful, positive, and most importantly, self-love!

JOHN GUCCI FOLEY , bestselling author, Fearless Success

No Regrets provides a timely roadmap to emotional well-being by equipping readers to tame their fears, overcome past regrets, and shift from mindset of surviving to thriving.

MICHEL RODRIGUE , president and CEO , Mental Health Commission of Canada

No Regrets is one of those books that meets you regardless of your stage of life.

DAVE VEALE , founder and CEO , Vision Coaching Inc.

Two words come to mind when I think about how to apply the wisdom in this book deliberate and intentional. Dr. Howatt always provides relatable teachings and practical tools for moving forward in a positive direction with our emotional well-being!

LYNN BROWNELL , CEO , WSPS

Dr. Howatts No Regrets provides the ingredients I didnt know I needed to solve a problem I didnt know I needed to solve. I now have the tools to live regret-free.

ERIC TERMUENDE , co-founder, NoW of Work

Dr. Howatt is helping us improve the quality of our lives by moving toward what serves us and away from what does not.

MARY ANN BAYNTON , CEO of Mary Ann Baynton & Associates Corp.

In his new book, No Regrets, Bill lays out a perspicuous path to an increasingly elusive condition: peace of mind. Who doesnt want that?

KELLY VANBUSKIRK , QC , PhD, C.Arb., lawyer and partner, Lawson Creamer

In a post- COVID -19 world, when everyone is having regrets, this book is timely. Discover your personal journey with No Regrets.

ELAINE CHIN , MD , MBA , founder, Innovation Health Group and Executive Health Centre

Dr. Bill Howatt offers a much-needed reckoning to our understanding of regret. This refreshing, research-informed, and practical book offers relevant tools to loosen the regret grip. This work is going to change lives by showing how to finally let go, so we can hold tight to brighter futures.

DR. ROBYNE HANLEY-DAFOE , author, Calm within the Storm

Copyright 2022 by Dr. William A. Howatt

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher
or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency
(Access Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit
accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

Some names and identifying details have been
changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

This book is not intended as a substitute for the mental health
advice of physicians or psychologists. The reader should
regularly consult a physician or psychologist in matters relating
to their mental health and particularly with respect to any
symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention.

Cataloguing in publication information is available
from Library and Archives Canada.

ISBN 978-1-77458-183-4 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-77458-184-1 (ebook)

Page Two
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Edited by Al Kingsbury, Amanda Lewis,
and Emily Schultz
Copyedited by Jenny Govier
Cover design by Taysia Louie
Interior design and illustrations by Taysia Louie
Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens
Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books
Distributed in the US and internationally by Macmillan

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billhowatt.com

To all my mentorsand there have been many

from elementary school, junior and senior high school,

university, and graduate school, to my first job at

the Nova Scotia Youth Centre, to my days on Wall Street.

I can look back at a moment when I was filled with

regret and recall each mentor who guided me to believe

in what is possible, not what had happened or what

I had not tried.

Living a life with no regrets is impossible. However,

when we are open to doing the work, we can learn from

regret that can be transformational. My mentors have

inspired me to write this book to provide a path for learning

from regret rather than fearing it, to provide tools for

managing it rather than getting stuck in it, and to help

others not only live with it but thrive by moving toward

the life they really want.

I S YOUR life going the way you want it to? Beyond yes or no, one way to explore this question is to write your obituary. Based on your current track, what would you feel comfortable writing?

When I suggest this exercise to a client, I notice more often than not the person will pause and say, Im not sure what I would write. My response: Thats fine. Would you want to report that you lived a meaningful life with no major regrets? Most answer, Yes.

Many of us are racing through each day, week, and month, trying to keep up with the demands of life. With this comes distraction and the risk of missing the gift of each day. A person facing death who believes they lived a meaningful life with no regrets has more peace of mind than one filled with regret and struggling to find meaning.

Ive never met the Dalai Lama, but I am a fan. Finding inner peace is one of my favourite insights from him. It comes down to discovering how to become content with where we are and what we have. His point is that waiting for more is unnecessary because we have all we need now to be content, which some may call happy, provided we can learn to manage our unpleasant thoughts and emotions instead of letting them control us. Managing thoughts and emotions is achievable for many, even those who dont believe it is.

We hear so many tragic stories every day, but not being directly involved, most of us never fully comprehend their significance. Consider Jonathan, who on his way home from an average day at work was hit by a transfer truck. Hes now paralyzed from the neck down and will never be able to play catch with his son again.

As Jonathan was lying in his hospital bed, his level of regret spiked higher and higher, and with this came increased levels of other unpleasant emotions. For weeks before the accident, his son had been asking him to play catch. He had rationalized that he would do it another day, as work was more important than playing for five minutes with his son. Jonathan realized he had taken his tomorrows for granted. When were present in our life, were aware of todays decisions and choices and their impact on our future.

Most of us could not imagine the hardship Jonathan went through physically, cognitively, and emotionally. Ive seen firsthand how a tragic outcome shifts perspective and priorities. Jonathan eventually learned how to have different kinds of play with his son. He first needed to move past his regret and look for new opportunities. He concluded that he could be a present father as long as he and his son were together.