It always amazes me what we can get used to because it’s what we’ve always done, it’s familiar, it’s comfortable, it’s easy. Even if it isn’t what we want, we stick with it because it’s less scary than the unknown, the new, the (gulp) challenging. It’s what keeps us in that job we loathe year after year, it’s what keeps us from pursuing our dreams, it’s what has us living a life that one day, we know we’ll regret.
Sometimes it’s a decision to stretch beyond the comfortable, other times it’s a jolt of reality that forces us to make that shift. Whatever the reason, we push through our fears and we get to the other side. Maybe having learned a few important lessons along the way and hopefully, having grown a bit in the process. Change, as terrifying as it seems at the time, is good.
How to Start Living With No Regrets
Clean the Slate — Take all your preconceived notions about what you should or shouldn’t do out of it by imagining that you literally have no constraints. What if you won the lottery tomorrow and could now do and be whatever you wanted, what would that be? Don’t worry — living with no regrets won’t require winning the lottery, but it is a good tool for shifting out of your comfort zone.
Get Clear — Do the deep, introspective work to get clear on exactly what you want out of life. What is the big picture view of how you see your life turning out? What do you REALLY want out of life? Love? Power? Fame? Fortune? Figuring out what you value means moving past what we think we should want because it’s what other people expect of us.
Project Forward — Whenever you are faced with a big life decision, think of what your future self would have to say about it. Taking a long view of the outcome of your decision often puts things in perspective, especially when you have been focusing on what is going on right here and now. What if you said “Yes” to that crazy idea today, would it matter much in 10 years?
Try It Out — Take the comfort filter off and start living the way you picture in your mind. Living without regrets isn’t permission to make reckless decisions, but it is permission to start filtering decisions in a different way. Start stretching a little, maybe challenge yourself a time or two to see how to feels. Chances are you will surprise yourself.
Start Aligning Everything — Once you get comfort with being uncomfortable, start aligning all your decisions with your ultimate life goal. Stop putting it off and just start doing it. It may take a bit of time and effort to get there, but living with no regrets means you need to at least try. Map out everything that steps you towards your goal and cross off everything that steps you away from your goal.
