Bestlife: 5 Days of Inspiration to Live Your Best LifeSample

No Regrets

“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him. . . . Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

—Genesis 37:19–20

“No regrets.” I heard that many times during my athletic career. It always motivated me and made me want to give the maximum effort. I have carried the mantra with me throughout my adult life.

The problem, of course, is that everyone has regrets. You cannot do everything right, and we all make mistakes. With more life experience comes greater insight about choices we have made or actions we have taken.

It turns out that what we regret most is not what we have done, but what we did not do. Cornell University psychologists surveyed hundreds of participants in six studies, asking them to name their biggest regret in life. Seventy-six percent said that their biggest regret was not fulfilling their ideal self.

The researchers identified three elements that make up a person’s sense of self. Your “actual self” consists of the qualities you believe you possess. Your “ought self” is the person you feel you should be with your responsibilities and obligations. Your “ideal self” is made up of the qualities you want to have. In other words, when it comes to our dreams and aspirations, we fail to act on them, and then later in life we are filled with regret about it. We are quicker to take steps to rectify failures regarding our responsibilities and obligations than to fulfill our dreams and goals.

In the short term, we regret our actions more than our inactions, but in the long term, it is the inaction that leads to greater regret. It is vital to act on our hopes and dreams. Putting them off indefinitely will positively lead to regret later.

Having a vision for your life is the beginning point. An excellent definition of vision is “seeing the invisible.” Unlike physical vision, this vision is something you can see for your life, yet it is not yet visible in your life. When you act on your vision, you will experience opposition. Joseph experienced this. In Genesis 37:19–20 (niv) we read, “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him. . . . Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

People will usually try to hinder your dream through criticism and discouragement, but don’t let that stop you. Your dream may tap into the insecurities of others, and they may react with words of criticism or may take actions to discourage you.

Act in spite of the opposition. Let the pursuit of your dream shape you. The pain will make you more compassionate, the struggle will make you more patient, and the support will make you humbler.

Whatever is the vision for your life, act on it now. You won’t regret it.

We hope this Plan inspired you. We adapted it from the book This Is Living: Daily Inspiration To Live Your Faith. If you would like more resources for your spiritual growth including a complimentary 5-Day Devotional visit www.rickmcdaniel.com/thisisliving.html.