I heard from a old friend today, she’s been in therapy struggling with a nasty divorce. When she called she told me her therapist wanted her to write her own obituary. I was like huh? Really? I never heard of anything like that before.
So, of course I was curious and had to go read about it. Writing your own obituary is supposed to make you realize that life is fragile and the decisions we make can play a huge roll in our life.
I started thinking about the choices I had made in my life. Which ones I’m glad I made and which ones I’ve regretted for years. While we’re not supposed to focus on our regrets. We learn from them, and maybe we can help someone around us not make the same choices.
Here are few I will share:
- Not Staying In Touch With Friends And Family
We can get so caught up in our weekly routine, that we don’t make time for people in our lives that matter the most. With the craziness of traffic, our immediate family and our jobs to forget what’s important to our hearts.
The monotony of life can make it so easy to lose touch with old friends and family members that live far away, if we don make an intentional point to keep in touch we can find it will be to late when we try.
My last living aunt passed away last year. I used to try and call her every few weeks. But as the weeks went by I just kept putting it off “I’ll do it tomorrow,” but tomorrow never came. She passed away in her sleep. I still beat myself up about not taking a few minutes to call her more often.
Sometimes it breaks the monotony to call or visit someone that we haven’t taken the time to reconnect with. Close family and friends bring us energy. We shouldn’t let location or time get in the way of the people who matter to us.
- Not Letting Yourself Be Happy
Let me ask you… are you happy with your life? I’m not asking if it perfect (perfect doesn’t exist) but are you happy?
People get so caught up in success and money that happiness sometimes goes out the window. When we are at the end of our lives, I’m sure we won’t think about the difficult times as much as the good times.
Find 3 things in your life that will generate instant happiness to avoid this regret. Whether it’s playing with the dog, being involved in a group sport team, talking to that “one” person on the phone.
Find the little things that make you happy, don’t wait for the big ones or they might not ever come. Little things can give you a lot of happiness.
- Working Too Many Hours
I’m sure everyone can relate to this regret. Working hard isa great way to impact the world but often times people take it to extremes. Often times working to much can damage your health, your relationships or quality of life.
Don’t get so obsessed with money that you forget about the people and moments that mean the most to you. It’s important to find a balance.
- Not Expressing Your True Feelings
If you’re feeling something communicate it to the people around you that need to hear it. I spend so many years holding my feelings inside because I did want to hurt others, but in turn I ended up hurting myself. Don’t brew over feelings, get them out in the open. It won’t always be easy but it will be worth it.
- Not Living A Life True To Yourself
So many people end up living a life that isn’t true to themselves. Don’t base yourself on the version everyone else thinks you should be. Be yourself who cares what other people think. If you’re not your true self, you will be the only one suffering. Who cares what other people think. The right people will stick around.
Listen to your inner voice. Don’t follow others, become the leader of your own life. Be proud of the life you are living.
Figure out what you want your life to align with and plan your activities around it. Life is way too short to try and impress others.
Start living a life that you will be happy and proud to live.
From Pity to Praise 