Living life with no regrets

“You're writing the story of your life one moment at a time…” ~ Doc Childre and Howard Martin

10 ways to practice living life with no regrets:

1. Realize that it’s okay to make mistakes. Just make sure to learn from your  past mistakes, forgive yourself and move on.

2. Make your health and wellness a top priority and always take care of yourself so you’re ready to take care of others.

3. Follow your own path—not one that others want you to follow.

4. Find the humor in life and laugh like there is no tomorrow.

5. Relax and move with the flow of life by being unafraid of change.

6. Be adventurous by trying new things and taking new risks.

7. Have more intellectual curiosity and embrace creativity.

8. Try to find happiness with as many different people as you can.

9. Think for yourself instead of letting other people’s opinions influence you too much.

10.Try not to judge people before you get to know them.

(Source: Internet)

Wear "pink tekkies"

Wear “pink tekkies” -  Hardy Olivier

The norm is to blend in.  Don’t say or do anything that will attract attention.  That’s fine if you are happy to be mediocre; if you don’t want to draw attention to yourself; if you don’t want to be a person who people take note of.

Wearing “pink tekkies”, signify that you are different... unique... one of a kind.  You’re always ten steps ahead.  You have a positive ‘can-do’ attitude.  Your ideas are creative.  You are willing, able and capable.  Nothing is too much for you.  People admire your energy and abilities. 

Are you wearing your “pink tekkies’?

Another still-born idea

 “Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

You have great ideas, but one after the other they are still-born. 

Take stock of your ideas and decide which ones have the most potential.  Do you depend on other people to get them to fruition or do you have sole control over their destiny?  Ask yourself whether you are ready for the responsibility to be successful?

Many a great idea is killed by thoughts of failure.  Believe in your own abilities and become committed to your dreams.

“Commitment leads to action. Action brings your dream closer…”  ~ Marcia Wieder

Encourage me

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I may not forget you.” ~ William Arthur

Everyone needs just one person who believes in them.  Are you that one person for someone else? 

Make today count by encouraging just one person.

Do you want it more than you are afraid of it?

“Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it...”  ~Bill Cosby

You wish you had the nerve to audition for idols…  You wish you have asked the girl of your dreams out…  You wish you have the courage to resign and start your own business...  You wish you were brave enough to leave your loveless marriage…  You wish you were bold enough to… 

Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it…

A matter of perspective

 “Fear is a darkroom where negatives develop...”  ~Usman B. Asif

Just watching the news or reading the news paper is enough to scare you nowadays.  Being indoctrinated with bad news, it doesn’t take much to paralyze us into a total state of panic.  “What has the world come to,” we ask?  Eventually we develop tunnel vision.

Fears developed into negativity.  We lost trust in our fellow mankind.  We want to emigrate. 

However, from negatives we can develop the most beautiful photos/memories in the same darkroom where negativity stems from.  It is just a matter of perspective.

You ain't no coward!

But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you!  ~ Rocky Balboa

The art of waiting

“All good things come to he who waits”~Proverb quotes

Waiting is not something we are good at.  Granted we live in a time known for instant gratification.  Fast food outlets are everywhere to be found.  Food is cooked or heated in seconds in a microwave.  An email is received within seconds from the sender clicking ’send’ on the other side of the world.  Digital Cameras ensure we don’t have to wait until a film is developed.  Written letters posted with a postage stamp is something unheard of.  We don’t even write proper sentences, we use sms language. 

Contradictory to all of this, we have to wait for the really good things in life! No wonder we are so impatient.  Waiting is an art that all of us can master with practice.

Make things happen

The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them. George Bernard Shaw

Maybe you don’t know who Elon Musk is, but you must have heard of PayPal, founded by him and today known as the largest internet payment system.  PayPal started off as Xcom, which he later sold for approx R12 million.  As a qualified engineer, he then designed the first viable electric car as co-founder of Tesla Motors.  He now is CEO and co founder of Solar City and SpaceX.

Musk bought his first computer at age 10 and taught himself how to program.  By the age of 12 he sold his first commercial software, a game called Blastar. 

In 2008 SpaceX was awarded a $1.6 billion NASA contract for 12 flights of their Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.  . In a 2011 interview, he said he hopes to send humans to Mars' surface within 10–20 years. On May 25, 2012, the SpaceX Dragon vehicle docked with the ISS, making history as the first commercial company to launch and dock a vehicle to the International Space Station.

Elon Musk is a South African by birth that makes circumstances happen and he is only 41 years old!

Never excuse yourself

“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.”  Henry Ward Beecher

We often make excuses for ourselves, but today I want to encourage you to start holding yourself accountable.  Start with some serious, honest introspection. 

Are you living up to other people’s expectation of yourself, whilst fully aware that you are capable of so much more?  Delivering to other’s expectations, result in mediocrity.  Delivering to what you expect and know you can achieve will result in excellence. 

Set goals for yourself, and monitor achieving them, raising the bar slowly but surely.  Celebrate those successes and remember to never make excuses for yourself.

Noble tasks

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.” Helen Keller

Not everyone is destined to be President of America, Brad Pitt, Columbus or Neil Armstrong.  We might all work for the same company, but not all of us will end up being CEO of this company.

But all of us can be the best in the role that we have been appointed in.  Whether you are the cleaner or the manager, doesn’t define the nobility of the task.  It is how you approach the task at hand. 

The story is told of President John F Kennedy who once visited NASA. He came across a cleaner and asked him what his job was. The cleaner replied: ‘My job is to help to put a man on the moon.’

Just imagine how powerful it is for everyone in a company to be so aligned to the mission and strategy.

Make the best of what is in your power

 “Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.”
Epictetus

We don’t start on even foot in life.  Some people have it easier than others; however, everyone has the ability to make the best with what is in their power.   

What would be sad is if you gave up even before you started just because you think you don’t have a chance. 

Do the right thing

“Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the high road to pride, self-esteem and personal satisfaction.” Brian Tracy

It is not easy to say no to yourself.  To do what is right, even though it might not be the best for yourself, is probably the most difficult thing to do.  Everyone else lies or gets away with it, why should I be any different? 

Just remember that you don’t have to account for others.  You are only responsible for your own doings.  It’s about how it will make you feel afterward.  Can you look yourself in the eye and feel good about what you did?  Can you go to bed at night knowing that you didn’t do anything you should be ashamed of?

“The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life is the source from which self-respect springs.” Joan Didion

Blame or change

“When you blame others, you give up your power to change.” Unknown

I once read an article about how to participate in a conversation about rugby if you don’t know anything about the sport.  Rule number one was:  “Always find something or someone to blame, normally the ref.” 

Somehow we think it is in order to blame others for our own failures or shortcomings.  How are we ever going to get to the point where we can take responsibility if we constantly shy away from taking responsibility?  It’s not about being a victim; it’s about having an opportunity to change. 

Say no more

Life is slowly passing us by. Without a genuine sense of enthusiasm, a zest for life, and a light-hearted spirit, we take our problems and obstacles too seriously.  People are seen as burdens instead of gifts. Challenges are dreaded instead of seen as opportunities.  ~Richard Carlson

Say no more.

Catalyst or excuse

That our background and circumstances might have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for whom we become (email)

Not everyone has the same opportunities.  Similarly, not everyone has it easy growing up. 

Does this mean that people from less fortunate backgrounds cannot be successful? 

This depends the individual.  Your background can either be the catalyst to propel you to become someone or it can be used as an excuse for the rest of your life.

Gears we never use

Life is like a ten-speed bicycle.  Most of us have gears we never use.   ~Charles Schulz

Just imagine the possibilities if we were to start exploring those ‘gears’ we never use.  For us to explore those latent talents, we have to move out of our comfort zone and venture into foreign territory.  

Ignore the negative comments that others might make.  Believe in yourself and persevere. 

Teamwork

"People have been known to achieve more as a result of working with others than against them." Dr. Allan Fromme

Until recently, scientists could only theorize as to why geese and other large, migratory birds adopted the V formation for flying long distances.

However, a new study put this theory to the test. A team of scientists taped heart monitors to a group of pelicans that were trained to fly behind a small airplane. They discovered that the heart rates of the birds were lower when flying in a V than when flying solo. Migrating birds use the "squadron" formation because it allows them to glide more often, conserving energy. The aerodynamic V shape reduces air resistance, allowing the geese to cover longer distances.  In fact, a flock of geese can fly 70 percent further by adopting the V shape rather than flying in isolation.
The V formation may offer other benefits as well. Each bird has an unobstructed field of vision, allowing flock members to see each other and communicate while in flight.
The goose at the head of the V is not necessarily the leader of the flock. Apparently, geese take turns leading. As one bird tires, it drops to the back of the formation and another takes its place. Now that's what we call teamwork.

Work on your relationships

A relationship that works is a relationship that you work on... Anonymous

So what is the practical application of these words?  How does one work on a relationship?  Remember when you just met one another?  You did everything together.  You considered one another.  You shared thoughts, dreams, sadness...

Remember how you spoke to one another?  Remember how often you spoke to each other?  People who are in love talk very softly, because they are always close to each other.  However when people are angry the distance grows and therefore they shout at one another. 

Get closer to one another and continue to work on the relationship.  While you’re together, there’s still hope.

Who are you to judge?

 “Who are you to judge the life I live?   I know I'm not perfect - and I don't live to be, but before you start pointing fingers... make sure you hands are clean!” ― Bob Marley

Pointing a finger at someone else, result in at least three fingers pointing directly at yourself.

 A man asked his father-in-law, "Many people praised you for a successful marriage. Could you please share with me your secret?"
The father-in-law answered with a smile, "Never criticize your wife for her shortcomings or when she does something wrong. Always bear in mind that because of her shortcomings and weaknesses, she could not find a better husband than you."  (Received via email)

Let us not point fingers.  Respect others the way that you would like to be respected.  Believe in the goodness of mankind.  In retrospect, nobody is perfect.