You may be wondering, what should I put on my 365 list? What do I really want to commit to doing on a daily basis? Maybe you are not sure what you really want. It can be tough to filter through all the options and indecision. The solution to this problem occurred to me while I was driving to work this morning. I call it “imagined regrets.”
People often report, as they near the end of their lives, that it is not the things they did that they regret most. But, rather, it is the things they did not do that they regret most.
Let’s do a thought experiment. Use your imagination and pretend this is your last day. What do you regret not doing in life? The answer to this question is really important. It is personal. It is possibly just the thing to work into your 365 Commitment.
I would say that preemptively eradicating your imagined regrets is a worthy project. Some people would boil the answer down to merely creating a bucket list of experiences to have. Which is fine I suppose. For me, the answer it more related to how I conduct myself. I would hate to have a regret like “I wish I had tried my best more often” or, “I regret not letting go of resentments that ate up my time and attention” or, “I regret not facing my fears, and correcting my weaknesses” or, “I regret not playing more and having more fun” or, “I regret not making use of and developing my gifts” or, “I regret not taking more risks in life” or, “I regret not really committing to anything.”
What are your imagined regrets? What comes into focus for you? Well, figure out how you can preempt them! Surely there is a goal or habit you can pursue that will banish your imagined regrets and replace them with the opposite. Commit to banishing them through daily incremental effort. Use your 365 Commitment as a tool to create satisfaction, gladness, joy, and meaning. I can’t think of a better application of the 365 Commitment.
Ben Wagner (31)
Member 365 Commitment
