Cat’s in the Cradle

I was with a client the other day who was sharing with me she had a lot of regrets in her life. She stated there were so many things she wished she had the opportunity to go back and do differently. I listened quietly and intently as she spoke and then took the liberty of sharing one simple fact with her, these moments she speaks of are not regrets, but lessons.

Never regret anything that has happened in your life. At this time it can not be changed, done differently, forgotten about or undone so take it as a lesson and move forward. Our lives would be so dark and dreary if we never learned anything from our past. Time would move slower, days would last longer and people would smile a whole lot less.

Here are a few regrets I turned into lessons –

• Don’t try to eat spaghetti and drive at the same time.
• Check that your shoes match before you leave the house.
• Make sure the pants you are wearing that zip in the back are zipped before you get out of the car and bend over.
• Check your teeth for lipstick.
• Know someone’s correct name if you are going to introduce them.
• Be sure your extensions are properly in before you go out in public.
• Always check for toilet paper in public places.
• Make sure you don’t have a pair of panties and a dry cleaner cloth stuck to your pants, again before you go out in public.
• Watch out for the placement of those tan lines.
• Make sure you have enough money for the drive thru (thank you to sweet lady at BK yesterday).
• Please get back in to your own car.
• Make sure they are waving at you and not past you.
• Don’t get your tattoo on the wrong leg.
• Never drink so much you end up lost the next morning and not sure how you got there.
• Don’t jump when you are getting a tattoo.

“Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.”

Starting tomorrow, don’t look back at your mistakes as regrets, but as opportunities for lessons. With this in mind, you have a world of places you can go. And be brave enough to heal yourself even when it hurts.