Ray’s Daily
August 18, 2021
Regret is mostly caused by not having done anything.
Charles Bukowski
No matter how old we are we still have the ability to work on can enjoy our lives. The tough part is that we too often miss things we could do to enhance the days we have left. Awhile ago Marc Chernoff sent me his thoughts on opportunities we might regret if they are missed. Here are excerpts from that article for your consideration.
10 Regrets Too Many People Will Have in 10 Years
In the end, more than anything else, we regret the small chances we didn’t take, the priceless relationships we were too busy to nurture, and the good decisions we waited too long to make.
Not spending enough quality time with the right people. — At some point, you’ll just want to be around the few people who make you smile for all the right reasons. Never be too busy to make room in your day for the ones who matter most.
Not expressing your love openly and honestly with those you love. —Express your love! Tell people what you need to tell them. Don’t shy away from important conversations because you feel awkward or uncomfortable. Hearts are often confused and broken open by words left unspoken.
Basing a significant portion of your self-worth on other people’s opinions of you. — We tend to forget that most people judge us based on experiences from their own life that have absolutely nothing to do with us. For example, a person might assume things about you based entirely on a troubled past experience they had with someone else who looks somewhat like you. Therefore, basing any part of your self-worth on what they think puts you in limbo—you are literally at the mercy of their unreliable, bias perspective.
Being too busy impressing others and forgetting about what matters to YOU. — Ten years from now it won’t really matter what shoes you wore today, how your hair looked, or what brand of clothes you wore. What will matter is how you lived, how you loved, and what you learned along the way. So forget about impressing people for the sake of it. Be real instead! If you want to impress someone, impress yourself by making progress on something you’re sincerely proud of. Focus on what matters! It’s truly amazing what you can accomplish in a day when you aren’t incessantly worried about what everyone else in the world is thinking and doing.
Letting uncertainty paralyze you. — Trust me now and thank me later, embrace uncertainty! Because some of the most incredible chapters of your life won’t have a title you feel comfortable with until much later.
Holding on too tight to every ideal, and then missing out on real opportunities. — You can’t lose what you never had, you can’t keep what’s not yours, and you can’t hold on to something that does not want to stay. But you can drive yourself mad by trying. What you need to realize is that most things are only a part of your life because you keep thinking about them. Stop holding on to what hurts, and make room for what feels right!
Playing the victim for far too long. — If you always play the victim, you will always be treated like one. Life isn’t fair, but you don’t have to let the past define your future.
Waiting, overanalyzing, and never taking the necessary steps. — Too often we waste our time waiting for the ideal path to appear, but it never does, because we forget that paths are made by walking, not waiting.
Being too busy to appreciate your life. — Take action, work hard, but don’t forget to pause and pay attention to life’s little moments too. That’s honestly the best advice there is. Realize that life is simply a collection of little chances for happiness, each lived one moment at a time.
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The one thing I learned is to just give everything a shot. You don’t want to live in regret.
Chloe Kim
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TEACHER: Why are you late?
WEBSTER: Because of the sign.
TEACHER: What sign?
WEBSTER: The one that says, “School Ahead, Go Slow.”
~~~
“An old timer is a man who’s had a lot of interesting experiences — some of them true.”
~~~
When a physician remarked on a new patient’s extraordinarily ruddy complexion, he said, “High blood pressure, Doc. It comes from my family.”
“Your mother’s side or your father’s?” the doctor asked.
“Neither,” he replied. “It’s from my wife’s family.”
“Oh, come now,” the doctor said. “How could your wife’s family give you high blood pressure?”
He sighed. “You oughta meet ’em sometime, Doc!”
~~~
“Any husband who says, ‘My wife and I are completely equal partners,’ is talking about either a law firm or a hand of bridge.”
Bill Cosby
~~~
A collector of rare books ran into an acquaintance who told him he had just thrown away an old Bible that he found in a dusty, old box. He happened to mention that Guten-somebody- or-other had printed it.
“Not Gutenberg?” gasped the collector.
“Yes, that was it!”
“You idiot! You’ve thrown away one of the first books ever printed. A copy recently sold at auction for half a million dollars!”
“Oh, I don’t think this book would have been worth anything close to that much,” replied the man. “It was scribbled all over in the margins by some clown named Martin Luther.”
~~~
“Start every day off with a smile and get it over with.”
W. C. Fields
~~~
A guy walked into his friend’s office, he found him sitting at his desk, looking very depressed.
“Hey, what’s up with you?” he asks.
“Oh, its my wife,” replied the man sadly. “She’s hired a new secretary for me.”
“Well, nothing wrong in that. Is she blonde or brunette?”
“Neither, He’s bald.”
~~~
A computer expert is someone who can tell you logically why he doesn’t know what to do about your problem.
~~~
An airline customer-service agent got a call from a woman who wanted to know if she could take her dog on board.
He told her the dog was welcome, as long as she paid a $50 charge and provided her own kennel. He further explained that the kennel needed to be large enough for the dog to stand up, sit down, turn around and roll over.
“I’ll never be able to teach him all that by tomorrow!” she said, and hung up.
~~~
Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.
~~~
This lady went with her daughter to visit a prestigious university, and the student guide pointed out the nationally ranked library and state-of-the-art science facilities. She told them that the professors were the best in the world, and she recommended the daughter apply early to improve her chances for admission. “We get so many applicants,” she boasted, “because of the stature of the school.”
After the tour the mother asked our guide, “So, why did you choose this school?”
“Oh,” she replied, “my boyfriend works at the McDonald’s across the parking lot.”
~~~
We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here now with the power to shape your day and your future.
Steve Maraboli
about:blan
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Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
Ray’s Daily has been sent for more than twenty years to people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can request to be added by e-mailing me at raykiwsp@comcast.net. Back issues are posted at http://rays-daily,com/ currently there are hundreds of readers from around the world.
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