All kids want to do is grow up. And who can blame them?
Homework sucks. Many of their classes are boring. They don’t have any freedom.
Personally, I can say that high school was one of the greatest times of my life…in spite of these things. In fact, when most kids grow up they find out that being a kid wasn’t all that bad.
As a kid we all have big dreams and believe that anything is possible. We have boundless energy. We recover from injuries quickly. And of course, we think we know everything.
Then we graduate and reality sets in.
For most of us work isn’t quite what we had envisioned. Often times it’s hard. Tiring. And stressful.
Sometimes we have the unfortunate luck of having a bad boss or a lousy coworker. That just makes things worse.
TGIF becomes many people’s mantra.
And yet, if we were stopped and really thought about just how much we have to be grateful for, then I’m sure we could all come up with a pretty long list. There are the obvious candidates: our friends, our health, our eyes and our family. But there are so many things we tend to overlook. Things like running water, soap, toothpaste, music, cameras and much much more.
Sadly, as our responsibilities and bills pile up people tend to focus on what they don’t have rather than what they do.
We all have problems no matter whether we’re rich or poor, tall or short, Asian or American, young or old.
But if you’ve ever had a near death experience or lost someone close to you then life itself takes on a whole new meaning. Our day-to-day problems seem so small and each day is a good day.
Sadly though the truth is most of us don’t take advantage of the time we have been given, especially in our younger years.
Why? Because we believe we have so much time left.
But as we get older we realize that this just isn’t true as we see those around us leave us. I lost two friends at the age of 19, another at the age of 32. Three lives lost in the blind of an eye. They never even saw it coming.
It’s only when we know that our time is getting near that we truly understand what is important and how we should have lived our lives.
The other day I came across a good article written by Andrew Rinehart that I think will make you think so I’ve included it below.
Life is short. Don’t waste it.
Follow your dreams and give as much of yourself to the world.
This blog and my book are just two of my contributions to life. What are yours?
Adrian Shepherd
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Top 5 Regrets By Those Dying
by Andrew Rinehart
I’ve recently become fascinated with a question, “What has been your biggest regret in life”?
I find myself asking this question to just about everyone I run into, the most interesting answers coming from those 40 years or older.
The answers vary greatly, but most often include comments about their family or career decisions.
Usually, they regret a mistake they made, one they believe to have been life altering. It’s always interesting to hear their responses regardless of the answer, however, I learn something new from each person I ask.
It constantly cements my belief that small decisions in life make huge differences.
I came across an article some time ago by Bonnie Ware that listed, by number of times mentioned, the top 5 things dying patients say they regret most in life.
It impacted me in a great way. Their answers are insightful and can assist anyone interested in living a fuller life.
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life, truer to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was by far the most commonly mentioned regret. As people are dying, they realize all of the dreams and hopes that have gone unfulfilled, mostly because they lived their lives, at least in part, trying to please others.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
This was mentioned by every single male patient interviewed. Women also mentioned…click here to continue reading