I pulled up to the store and parked my car, intending to go inside and get some empty boxes for packing.
But the store was busy – and I was dressed in my dirty barn gear: muddy jeans, manure laden boots, grubby sweatshirt. Not to mention I wasn’t wearing any lipstick, and my hair was a frizzy mess.
I hesitated. For a moment. Thinking I shouldn’t be seen in public, in civilization, like this.
And then I thought, but I am already here. It would be a shame not to get them, to have to come back another time, make another trip, expend more time, and gas.
And so I thought, to heck with what people think of me, I am going in to get those boxes.
And what other people think of me is none of my business anyway.
And sure enough, I may have been better dressed than at least one other person in the store.
I asked the salesclerk if I could take some of the boxes, and she said sure. So I scored eight of them. And had to make two trips into the store while I loaded them into my car.
And boy did that feel good! To overcome that hesitation, that worry of what people may think of me, to get what I came for.
And then it dawned on me, that’s how it’s been for most of my life.
How good it feels to overcome any hesitation, any fear, and do it anyway!
(That’s a really great book by the way, “Feel The Fear And Do It Anway.”)
Because, when you look back at your life, and think of any regrets you may have, I bet they are things that were never done.
Goals and dreams and places and things that were never achieved, reached for, visited or acquired. Whatever the reason may be.
Of course, it’s so much easier said than done.
To want to apply for that great job, but then decide not to because you’ll probably never get it anyway.
To want to visit Europe, but then decide not to because you have obligations at home.
To want to learn to ride a motorcycle, but decide not to because it’s too dangerous.
Frank Sinatra sang, “Regrets, I have a few, but then again, too few to mention.”
Perhaps those regrets were things he didn’t do, as opposed to things he did.
And so when someone asks me if I have any regrets, I can quite honestly not think of a single one. I have done the things I wanted to do.
And I don’t even regret some mistakes I have made.
Because mistakes are a great part of this life, and part of what made me what I am today.
In fact, I am grateful for those mistakes, because they make me humble, and appreciative, and I know I am far from perfect.
And so, here’s to only regretting what you DON’T do.
And may you have no regrets.