Regrets and Changes

My goal was not to wake up in my mid 40’s with the bitter realization that I had wasted my entire life on something that I hated.  I wanted to be the bleak percentage of the population that had no regrets, and although I am quite happy with my life, my only regret was not having found love after divorce until now. If I died tomorrow and I tell my kids this all the time…..I would die a happy woman who enjoyed life, although sometimes rougher than I anticipated, nevertheless, fought tooth and nail for all that I believed in, followed my dreams and made my goals my realities. I couldn’t have asked for a better family. I have always considered myself the “black sheep” of our family, and most every family has one, or so it seems and I always felt like I brought new mix to the pot. Life is never dull with me around and more often than not, I have my family and friends wondering “What is she going to do next?” I am the adventurous one who isn’t afraid to take the bull by the horns, or to take a stance if I believe in something or someone even if it means standing alone, the one who says yes when others say no.

I truly believe that when something strikes, such as cancer did for me, and not just once, but four times in the last ten years you tend to take a better perspective on life and you certainly learn that the things you may have taken for granted you take no more. I see the world and my life as if I were wearing “magic glasses” and the things that I didn’t do, or that I was doing all wrong, I fixed. I changed my ways with things that I was doing that I didn’t like. I guess you can say that I did a little house cleaning within myself.

In a recent study, about 44 per cent of the women interviewed listed romance being their #1 regret, while only 19 per cent of men did. Many of the romantic regrets were about 'the one that got away, a missed opportunity or someone you knew in college with whom it didn't quite work out,' The second-most common regret centered around family issues, such as a desire to have been kinder to a loved one. Others regretted not going to college or not divorcing sooner, or choosing money over a life's passion. My suggestion would be for you to take a good hard look at yourself in the mirror….are you happy with who you are and how your life turned out? If you are, that is terrific! It you aren’t, it’s never too late to have a “re-do” and fix it.

Mistakes are something in which we all learn from. You wouldn’t have learned anything throughout life had you not made the mistakes that you did along the way. Mistakes can be corrected; regrets often cannot, because most often people think that it is too late to change. There is no better time than the present. Life is a gift, accept it, appreciate it and enjoy it, for tomorrow you may not have the chance. Strip down to the naked truth, determine who you are by reading the book of life as if it were written all about you. Figure out what you can do, how you can make your life better, regret free, and do it.