Jack of all Days

“Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can’t build on it; it’s only for wallowing in.” —Katherine Mansfield

It’s hard to live a life without regrets. There is always that old friend we lost touch with, the risk we didn’t take, the job we might have had. I could have done this. I should have done that. Today is the day to toss that thinking out the window. Let’s face it. We all have wanted to do something but didn’t because we convinced ourselves that it wasn’t the right time, that we weren’t ready or that we would do it some day. But dwelling on the past is no way to live your life. Every moment of our lives is right now, and we should try to live that way.

Today, start questioning what it is you want out of life. Stop drifting through life, waiting to make decisions, putting up with crap rather than doing something about it. Decide to take action. Make changes. And most of all, live with gratitude for all you do have and all you’ve accomplished. Our lives—the good, the bad and the ugly—are the result of all the choices we’ve made, and we our completely responsible for our pasts. We’re responsible for our futures, as well. Your future will be what you make of it.

I think the only way to live is in the moment. There is an old Eskimo proverb, “Yesterday is ashes; tomorrow wood. Only today does the fire burn brightly.” It means to remind yourself that worrying about the future or regretting the past isn’t going to change what has or is going to happen. Today, commit to living in the now with no regrets.