We’re born running out of time
What do you do when you get to the end and realize you could’ve done better but didn’t try?
Could there be a more despair filled moment?
I doubt it.
I remember reading about a large survey done on people who were on their death beds.
Their Number One regret was not taking more risks when they had the chance
They didn’t regret so much the bad things they’d done.
They regretted more the cool things they’d never tried to do!
Upon learning this news, I was horrified. Horrified for these people because…damn.
And horrified in some future sense for myself, because I got it and I believed it.
And I didn’t want to reach that same set of circumstances in my life.
The true horror lies in understanding that it never has to be this way
To avoid this lies in the decision to avoid it! It’s just that simple!
One avoids it by following one’s gut and acting on these impulses, albeit in the most rational way possible.
To do so means to not live in fear.
It’s an act of courage that pays for itself in the end, even if the intended goal is not reached.
The trying is the win!
Many of our choices are made by our ego
Our ego is what we think of as “ourselves”. It makes you you.
But that ego is not real. It is a construct.
It’s a representation of how we see life and how we should respond in order to stay safe.
And it doesn’t have the final say unless we believe this to be.
It’s the same as software in a computer. It can be changed to better suit our needs.
As of this writing, I am only 43.
I already wish I’d done better, gone after more opportunities, taken advantage of offers placed right before my face, and been a lot wiser in a lot of areas than I was.
But I didn’t and I wasn’t, yet those choices I made got me to here. And here is pretty damn sweet when compared to there – back then.
So don’t kick yourself for whatever you wished you’d done up to this point
Just make it your mission to do better from here on out.
I don’t have much more to add to this.
Just picture yourself in a position of helplessness, which can hit us at any age – something that you know you’re not coming back from, you’re not walking away from. This is it. You’re done.
Now picture yourself asking the questions:
- Did I go for it?
- Did I take every shot I could?
- Did I matter?
- Did I do the best I could?
- Really?
- Honestly?
- And if not, why didn’t I?
That last bit – why didn’t I? – you can answer retroactively from this futuristic vantage point and fix it in the here and now.
Why aren’t you going for it today? Now?
What do you fear? What makes you think you can’t or shouldn’t? Do you mistakenly think you’re incapable? And who put that idea into your head?
I’m not saying that the doing will be easy. I’m just saying that you should be doing something.
Once that terribly important first step has been taken, you can baby step it from there.
Do whatever you can with whatever resources you have on hand, no matter how limited.
It all matters. Don’t wait ’til you have no more say in it
The photographer of this post’s featured photo: Pablo Heimplatz