How many times in your life do you think you’ll utter those words and regret it?
In an article written by a nurse who spent her life working with older, terminally ill patients–people who kept lists of their most glaring regrets. Over the years, she found the most common were:
-I wish I hadn’t worried so much.
-I wish I had focused on being happier.
-I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
-I wish I had lived the life I wanted to live.
-I wish I had stayed in touch with friends and family.
In the short term, people tend to regret things they’ve done. But long-term regrets often come from things we wanted to do but didn’t.
It’s easy to create a narrative for ourselves about why we do what we do, but sadly in most cases, despite all the complaining you do, you don’t take any action to change.
“Next time”, you whisper to yourself.
The worst part about it all is that our inaction is almost always due to not wanting to upset someone. “Someone” could be a boss, sibling, spouse, co-worker, friend, child, etc. People will complain their entire lives about things they could change, but, “next time”.
Whether it’s leaving that crappy job you hate, asking the girl out, leaving an abusive spouse, jumping of that cliff in Costa Rica, swimming with those sharks Hawaii, taking that trip. Or in what we see most often, putting everyone else before yourself and your physical and mental well-being. “Next time”.
Stop waiting for the “perfect” time, “perfect” place or “perfect” situation. There is no such thing. “Perfect” is the enemy of getting shit done!
The most successful people in the world prioritize their time and take risks. Now matter how many times you ask, there’s only going to be 24 hours in the day. If others are getting it done, so can you.