You go to bed with that aching feeling of disappointment and regret another wasted day.
You feel like time is flying by and you are not living the life you want.
You wish you dared to try something new, follow your dreams and take more risks.
Instead, you live with constant remorse about the chances you didn’t take.
You regret the decisions you never made and the relationships you were afraid to pursue.
You are not happy with your life and have no idea what you can change.
It does not have to be this way.
While you can’t change your past, but you can choose your present and your future.
You can choose to let go of your past regrets, create your life vision, and start taking daily actions that will empower you to live a satisfying life with no regrets.
1. Let go of your past regrets
We all have some things in our lives that we wish we had done differently. We can experience guilt and regret in different situations and circumstances, including career, relationships, or other lifestyle choices. We might regret missed opportunities, doing, or not doing certain things.
To let go of your past regrets, you need first understand what you regret and why.
Acknowledge that you made some decisions based on the limited information you had at that point. Some decisions were made because of what you wanted in that specific situation.
We are imperfect human beings.
You can’t change your past. The best you could do is to forgive yourself for the past decisions and let go of regrets.
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
Alexander Graham Bell
Instead of wasting energy on the past, shift your focus to the present, and start creating your new life.
2. Create a vision for the life you want
Your life vision reflects where you want to be in one, three, five, ten, 25, or 50 years.
Your vision should capture what kind of person you want to become and describe every aspect of your life, both personal and professional. It can encompass your friends and family, lifestyle, fitness and health, career, finance, hobbies, and favorite pastimes.
Your vision should be created based on your values and reflect your dreams, hopes, and aspirations.
Creating a vision of your life can guide you to take the best actions that move you towards the life of your dreams.
If you don’t develop your vision, your life will be determined by outside circumstances and other people.
Some people might say that they don’t know what they want even shortly, to say nothing about five or ten years from now. Also, there is no guarantee on how life will turn out and what can happen, as we all evidenced this year.
Life can indeed be uncertain, and there are a lot of circumstances outside our control. However, we have the magic power of imagination. Just allow yourself to dream and imagine your ideal life in detail and how you want to feel.
If you find it challenging to envision your life ten years from now, start with one, three, or five years.
“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.”
George Bernard Shaw
You don’t need to try to figure out how you’re going to achieve your vision. At this stage, you only need to get a clear picture of what you want.
3. Transform your life vision into goals
To turn your vision into reality, you need to create specific goals and take action.
As you reflect on each aspect of your vision, you need to decide what short-term and long-term goals will get you to the place you want to be.
Make a list of everything you need to achieve your goals and organize it by sequence and priority. You need to set deadlines for each of your tasks. That’s how your goal becomes your plan.
Many people are paralyzed by the idea that their goals might take a long time to achieve.
However, if you follow your plan and make slow progress, you will be far better off than wasting your precious time on the things that don’t add value to your life.
“There are only two options: make progress or make excuses.”
It’s easy to make a lot of excuses that would justify your inaction. However, these excuses will cause regrets down the roads.
To live your life without any regrets, you need to honor what you want to achieve and, if possible, take daily steps towards your goals.
4. Overcome fear of the unknown
As you pursue your dreams, you need to find the courage to step outside your comfort zone and deal with uncertainty.
Many people are afraid of the unknown. This fear is driven by the feeling that we do not have control over how our lives will unfold, which is very unsettling.
The fear of the unknown is often based on the fear of failure. It is especially true when we are about to embark on a new, unfamiliar journey.
Although uncertainty can be scary, it can also be exhilarating. The unknown can be just as exciting as it is fearful. Just let life happen and experience it the way it is.
If you are afraid to do something because it seems scary or challenging, take small steps towards your goals. Slowly building familiarity with a frightening subject makes it more manageable.
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
Nelson Mandela
Start moving beyond your fears by exposing yourself directly to what you are afraid of and doing things that scare you. Never let fear hold you back.
5. Leap into action
The only way to achieve your goals is by taking action. While positive attitude, empowering thinking, and visualization have some merit, thoughts without actions get nothing done.
Some people tend to overthink whether they should pursue specific endeavors and weigh the pros and cons. While planning and analysis are essential, at some point, you need to get out there, start doing the work and figure out the rest as you go along.
Instead of waiting for inspiration, motivation, and perfect circumstances, take some small action to get the ball rolling. Motivation is often the result of an effort, not its cause. Getting started on a task creates momentum and generates motivation to keep going.
Do something every day, seven days a week. No matter how small a step could be. Resolve to persist on your goal until you succeed, no matter how hard it becomes or how long it takes.
Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Make that phone call, reach out to your friend, join a dating app, go for a run, start reading a book, start writing your business plan, or planning an adventure you’ve been dreaming about for a while.
Just leap into action and make the most out of each day.
Live your best life
You never know how long you will be on this planet. However, it’s within your power to live your best life when you make conscious choices to let go of your past, create a compelling life vision, get out of your comfort zone, and make the most of each day you have.
“Life is meant to be experienced. Put yourself out there. Do things you’ve never done. Live a life where at the end you will have no regrets.”
Ready to start your journey to a happier life?
If you would like to learn how to add self-care to your daily routine and upgrade your life, grab a free copy of my Ultimate Self-Care Guide!