by Matt Weik
The topic of this article is somewhat not the norm but I feel as though it needs to be said as it can transition through many areas of your life – including health and fitness. Far too many people push things off, don’t follow through, and never think they are able to do or accomplish something. This can range from getting on the bodybuilding stage, to starting a business, to asking out the hot chick you just met, to traveling the world – insert whatever you want to fit your personal life. You need to live life with some urgency so you aren’t living with regret.

LIVING WITH REGRET IS CRIPPLING

I’ve spent a lot of time hanging around nursing and assisted-living homes. My grandmother is getting up in age and her health is preventing her from living alone in her house. I’d say she has lived a good life as she never seems to complain. However, that can’t be said for everyone.
When talking to the other residents at the assisted-living home, you can feel the sadness they have as they sit there, unable to do much of anything or even travel outside of the building to see the outside world anymore, and it causes much reflection on their life.
You hear stories of people who lived amazing lives, traveled the world, took risks, and lived life to the fullest. And then as you look around at the others listening, you can sense their sorrow and the fact that they are now living with regret. They’re wheelchair-bound and unable to do the things we all take for granted. They look back on all the opportunities they’ve had but never took advantage of them or took action.
Walking around nursing homes and assisted-living facilities is one of the most depressing things you could ever do. There’s no way I could ever work at one of those facilities and I have much respect for those who do. For they are the caregivers to those who are living with regret, depression, pain, and loneliness. Can you honestly say right now if your life were to end (kind of morbid but follow along) that you lived a great life and did everything you wanted? My guess is that thinking about your mortality is scary and depressing. You’ve only just begun to live life. There’s so much to do. But only if you act NOW.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREVENT LIVING WITH REGRET?

I’m not here to tell you what to do with your life. You’re old enough to make those decisions no your own and I’m not about to play your mother. If you want to watch each day pass by without taking actions towards your goals, that’s your prerogative. But I can tell you one thing, if you live life like that, you’ll be just like the people I’m talking about in the nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.
My advice is to ACT NOW and with URGENCY. Grab a piece of paper and a pen and write down all of the things you want to do in life. Call it a bucket list or whatever you want, but having a visual will give you something to work from and strive to achieve. As you accomplish things cross them off the list and move onto the next.
Don’t stop working towards your goals and achieving what you wrote down. If it means starting a side hustle or second job to make enough money to travel around the world or do what you want then do it. At least the story of how you got there will be something worth sharing with friends and family down the road.
Stop thinking “I can’t” or “I won’t be able to” and start asking yourself “how can I” instead. If your goal is to get in shape and are currently overweight, ask yourself how you will get in shape and lose weight. Make a plan of action and implement it. Or if you’ve always wanted to step on a bodybuilding stage, ask yourself what it’s going to take to stand front and center and pose.
Thinking you can’t do something or will never be able to do something is deflating. You’re basically talking yourself out of something before you give yourself the option to try. This will cause you to live the rest of your life living with regret.
Here’s the deal. As with any of my articles, you can read them once, twice, six-hundred times if you want. But unless you act on what you read and take action, nothing will change. As they say, nothing changes if nothing changes and whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.
If you want to be living with regret for the rest of your life that’s on you. You take the L. However, I’ve seen what that does to a person and it’s honestly no way to live the rest of your life. Take action. Show some urgency. And go out and do the things you’ve always wanted to. The longer you wait, the less likely you’re going to be able to do it. Life can throw us a curveball at any moment. We are not guaranteed tomorrow nor are we guaranteed good health as we age. Take each moment you are given and make the most of it. Living with regret is no way to leave this world. Make the most of your time here.