Regret sucks!
I don’t know a better way of putting it. But I guess it is part of the human experience; to look back and say, “shoulda, woulda, coulda”.
George Kinder, considered the founder of Financial Life Planning, poses three questions in an effort to peel back the layers of thinking to get to the marrow of one’s true values.
I attended a workshop offered by George and Kinder Institute and he set us to work answering the first two questions, meant to uncover hopes and dreams and goals. The third was a 2 X 4 to the soul which posed the question, and I paraphrase, “You discover you have 24 hours to live. Who do you regret not being?”
Holy $%!$…who thinks about regret during the prime of one’s life? But there I was, with the other attendees coming to terms with that huge question.
Regret is a terrible feeling.
Do you regret decisions made or generosity not offered?
Do you regret not getting that nagging illness checked out?
Do you regret a lack of kindness where kindness and understanding would have been the right answer?
It’s a choice, right?
Rather than wait to consider your regrets, make the conscious choice to make decisions that align with who you are and what you care about. Do it for yourself, model it for others and in turn, make the world that much better.
PS: If you wish to experience the 3 Kinder Questions, let me know and we’ll talk about it.
