No Regrets Today

This article is for everybody who struggles, when plans are made for beautiful and worthwhile actions in life.

Things like:

• a visit to a live concert of your favorite band
• a short travel to New York or another city you like
• a long weekend only with your spouse (without the kids)

Usually people come to me and ask, how they can turn their passion into profits. But this time it´s different. I am my own problem. Realizing that hurts.

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It´s Tuesday 1pm. I am sitting in my office and gazing at the wall. The slap in the face comes out of nowhere. “You should have known it better! It´s not that difficult.” I am saying to myself.

My 4 year old son Moritz, my dad and me we did our first only-male-holiday and went to the sea.

My dad loved to see his son and grandson having fun. I loved the smell of the sea and the wind going trouhg my hair. Moritz loved the cycling with us across the sand dunes.

While he was sitting on his bike seat, he was shouting orders like: “Go daddy go. Faster!” and “Hey granddad, we gonna speed off now!”

I was pedaling like mad, to be first at the top of every sand dune. The 35 pound bicycle and this screaming powerhouse in front of my handlebar had a very intense training effect.

Back then, I decided to do these man-only-trips several times during a year.

This was 2013. Today it´s November 2014 and I have to commit, that we did not went again.

Appointments, illnesses, weather, mood swings and more kept me from going again. But that still isn´t any sort of reason.

The reasons are so trivial when we postpone our projects like a two day vacation, a family getaway, dating time with our spouse or having a deep conversation with our parents.

I always waited for better weather and cheaper prices when planning our next trip to the sea. And there was one more thing.

I call this main reason the schedule-of-perfectionism.

Maybe the biggest enemy of a quick implementation is, what I often said: “Let´s have a look”.

We hope, for better circumstances. We hope to get more out of it.

We think that the actual situation is not good enough yet.

For that reason many people …

• loose money when dealing in stocks
• miss chances to talk to a loved one
• are afraid of acting bold and confident

What I have learned from that? Nothing. Because i did the same mistake again.

But what I have found is a very helpful conclusion for my next trip to the sea.

What if it rains all day next time?

My son and me will have forgotten all these weekends we stood at home, when he is saying good bye at my deathbed.

But he will remember these days, we went swimming in the sea while it was raining cats and dogs. These days, we drank hot chocolate and played hide and seek all day.

These days, we ate his favorite pizza in our bathrobes while sitting on our beds and watching tv. These moments of joy and love will stay in our hearts for ever.

I want to create more of these moments.
For my wife, my kids, my parents and for you.
That´s why I am writing this.

Now I have a question to you. What are the three things, you don´t want to let the grass grow under your feet?

Maybe you can write down one personal, one social and one professional project you want to accelerate this year.

When going through your ideas, you may have a picture what to do, with whom and when.

As soon you get into planning, you will find lots of reasons to postpone. Excuses why it doesn´t make sense now. Arguments that sounds reasonable.

• It´s too late now. They only have bad seats left.
• The weather was better last week. Maybe it will rain.
• It´s not the perfect place to go. I wished i had booked earlierer.

The list goes on and on….

To be honest, it does make sense. Obviously. There are better seats somewhere. Better weather later. Greater places to stay sometimes. This is what I call resistance.

But when you know it´s too late to go back, when your chances are missed, your spouse left before you or your kids are grown up,you can only look back at decisions you took, that looked smart back then.

Don´t be too smart. Be a bit more enthusiastic.Like kids. They know how to enjoy themselves, as long as parents don´t cross their ideas 🙂

I have one last question to you. Can you do the following?

Procrastinate on overthinking – accelerate on operating. Like this famous brand says: Just do it.

Have in mind how your life would feel, if by the end of the day you could say: „No regrets today.“

Take yourself seriously again. You are worth it.

Be brave and #ActBoldNow

Written by Max Bormann