Preventing the 4 Monster Regrets

Yesterday I wrote about the 4 monster regrets that almost everyone has toward the end of their lives. Today, as promised, I’ll share a very simple and practical idea for alleviating each of them.

Regret #1: Relationships – “I wish I’d spent more time with family and friends.”

Suggestion: Make a list of the people who have had the most positive influence on your life. Send them a hand-written note or letter telling them that.

Regret #2: Experiences – “I wish I’d traveled more, written my book, started my own business, gone to graduate school, done more to experience my life.”

Suggestion: Enroll yourself in the PledgePower course on The Self Empowerment Pledge and ask a friend to join you as a PledgePartner. That was the motivation that finally inspired me to finish my book Winning the War with Yourself Field Manual and my PledgePartner Bob Dent to achieve his goal of losing 100 pounds as we helped each other stay motivated and self empowered on those experiences.

Regret #3: Finances – “I wish I’d spent less, save more prudently, and invested more wisely.”

Suggestion: If you aren’t already doing it, set up an automatic deposit into your retirement savings account, even if it’s only a small amount. Take to heart the old adage to pay yourself first. If you don’t have a retirement savings account set one up. Consider dollar cost averaging – where you invest the same amount every month into a mutual fund or other investment (there are varied opinions about whether this is a good idea so read up on it first).

Regret #4: Health – “If I’d known that I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself.”

Suggestion: Make one small daily commitment for nutrition and one for exercise. For example commit to eating one carrot a day (that’s what I’ve been doing since my bout with acute diverticulitis) and to doing pushups every day (you will find that pushups are like potato chips in that if you do one you are more likely to do another).