EVERYBODY SING: “Regrets, I’ve had a few…” Whoa! Stop the music! Hold on just a moment there! I’ve had more regrets than I’ve had Hershey’s chocolate kisses, and I’ve shopped at COSTCO for 30 years!
Recently, as I was reading the January/February 2008 AARP Magazine (yes, that’s right, I’m two years behind in my reading), I came across an article delineating the five most common life regrets. In a nutshell, and in order, they encompassed 1) Education, 2) Career, 3) Romance, 4) Family, and 5) The Self.
So I decided to take an honest look at my 55 years. A really honest look. And you know, it wasn’t half as bad as I thought. My education sector is solid. Thank goodness they only included college and degrees and such. I know I’m a little techno-challenged, but there’s still time! My career was/is one of my strong points; I wanted to be a teacher and writer, and I was and am. Family issues, according to the article, focused mainly on kids and parenting. No problem; I didn’t choose to have children. And as far as the self goes, I’m a work in progress. Today I count more pluses than minuses.
Notice how I blithely skipped examining the romance area? Suffice to say it’s my greatest area of discontent, and one intensely deep and specific regret makes me scream “DO OVERS!” and pull the covers up over my head. More than that, I’ll not disclose. I only pray someday soon to have him back in my life.
But enough about me.
After taking an honest inventory of regrets, the next step is to take action. As long as you’re still breathing, there’s still time to eradicate those perceived “failures.” The article suggested IMMEDIATELY doing something about it. Go back to school, change jobs, spend time with your kids, stick to your food and exercise plan, and call that someone you’ve been missing. It’s not too late to live the life you’ve imagined.
Seriously. If you can dream it and believe it, you can achieve it. So what are you waiting for? Want to pile regret upon regret? Stop right this minute, figure out the area of your biggest regret, and take action to do something about it…today!