Imagine you are in your older years today and looking back on your life and everything you’ve accomplished. What will you wish you did differently in life? Will you wish that you were braver? Took yourself less seriously? What do you think will be the most meaningful thing you did? Common regrets in latter years are things like, “I wish I was true to myself and did what I wanted to do over what others wanted me to do.” “I wish I didn’t work as much.” And, “I wish I expressed to people how much I loved them.” Often the things we attribute so much weight and importance to in our everyday lives are in reality not as important as we think they are. The world continues on whether we return a text or not, but only we can decide how to prioritize our lives.

For many of us our top priorities are work, more work, paying bills and doing laundry type chores, planning, returning phone calls, emails, texts and maintaining social obligations. We are always mentally on our way to the next thing, always fretting we are already behind. We feel we have to do everything or else the structure of life might fall apart. The mental energy we do reserve for ourselves is usually spent regretting something or worrying about something to come. Obsessing over things that cannot be affected with more obsessing. What usually gets put last on that list is time for self care. Giving yourself time to relax and exercise. Taking enough time to eat a good meal. Spending time thinking of the things that are good about yourself, what you still want to attain, and what you love about life now. We are the ones that decide we can get by without time for ourselves and yet they are equally if not more important than other everyday tasks.

When you dwell on the things that are not good or right, will that be time well spent? Will you remember that at 100 years or will you remember what you savored, what you built. Have you taken time today to think about the things you value most in your life and the things you are most grateful for? The simple act of making that list will change your perception of your world and how you feel. Do not waste your time with fear or regret. It will serve you with nothing for the future. Our time is fleeting and precious and there is no reason to not pursue our fullest potential. You have nothing to lose but discovery and understanding. Make yourself proud.