Ruminating on the road not taken?

Do you find yourself looping back & ruminating on a key decision crossroad?

For example:
❌️ the opportunity you weren’t provided and/or didn't pursue
👎 the invitation you declined, avoided or were unaware of
🤔 the study choice you wish you'd taken
🤙 the person you didn't call or who didn’t call you
😓 the choice you prioritised, perhaps repeatedly, at the expense of something else

How do others start to stop the (painful) ruminating? Interested to hear your experience in this if you'd like to share in comments?

Here are a couple of my thoughts too:

💔 When we can start to lean into, and accept the pain associated with our decisions, it may start to feel easier to also accept our current reality and move forward with compassion and clarity.
In some cases it could well also be helpful to give ourselves permission to grieve. Grief offers a doorway for transformation.
🖼 Consider the story we're telling ourselves about our decision and the road not taken. Is there room for a different story? Is the grass really greener over there?
👣 Just finding our feet and feeling the ground beneath. Then looking up, to the stars above. It may help with grounding and also putting things into a different perspective.

Ruminating is not all bad, within reason. It's a normal thing for our brains and can help us unlock some stubborn puzzle or dilemma, but when it gets to the point that it's significantly holding us back (e.g. overthinking, unfocused, affecting motivation, self-belief, procrastination over fear of making bad decisions) then that's something important to face into, with courage and resources (e.g. self &/or support).