Leave No Regrets

family
We all have things we have done in life that we regret, things that we want to do that we have never done, things we should have said but didn’t, people we treated poorly that didn’t deserve it.

Is there someone in your life, that if they died tonight, you would have regrets for things you left unsaid? Pick up the phone, go to their house, or send them a note. Leave no regrets.

Ideally we want to eliminate negativity from our lives but we must accept that there are situations when it’s unavoidable. You can’t pick your family, you often don’t have control of who is selected to be a coworker. I have a cousin who lives in conflict. She always has a story of how she was victimized by others. Her life is filled with drama and I’m convinced she’s not happy unless she has something to complain about. At some point it will be my turn to once again to be the villain for something I did or didn’t do. When it happens, I will choose to accept who she is and not get drawn into her negative energy. When she doesn’t take my calls, or gives me the cold shoulder, I will simply send her a note telling her I’m sorry if I did something to upset her, and that I would like to get together soon. It usually takes a few weeks but the tone of letter makes it difficult for her to maintain her anger.

Stop holding grudges. My ten-year old daughter, Lori came to my wife a few months ago upset at one of her friends. The girl had been very nasty to her and Lori decided that she no longer wanted to be her friend. My wife suggested that maybe she was just having a bad day. Lori took it upon herself to send her friend the following text message, “I’m sorry if I upset you that was not what I wanted to do. If you want to talk about anything I am here.” It turns out that her friend’s parents had been fighting and the girl had been up most of the night listening to it. I’m happy to report that the two girls are still close friends. I know a lot of adults that could learn a lesson from a ten year old. Leave no regrets.

Being right is a matter of perspective. Have you ever talked to parties separately on opposite sides of a dispute? Both can sound right from their point of view. What if one simply became the bigger person and let it go. Try letting go of always having to be right. Leave no regrets.

Is there a place you’ve always wanted to go or an experience you’ve always wanted to have? Why have you not acted on it? If tomorrow you were diagnosed with a terminal illness that prevented you from having this experience, what then? If you have the means to make it happen, make the arrangements today. If you do not have the means, set a goal to accumulate what you need, when you achieve the goal, make the arrangements then.

None of us has a guarantee of being here tomorrow. Stop standing on ceremony, let go of the need to be right, and pursue your passions now. Leave no regrets.