Living Without Regrets

What are you going to do today, that you will thank yourself for tomorrow?

This is a question I try to ask myself every morning. Regret is one thing I work very hard to eliminate from my life. Having regrets is one of the worst feelings, and only brings negative energy into my life. Waking up and feeling grateful for what I did the day before, that is what brings me peace and happiness. It can be something as simple as taking a few minutes in the morning to just drink my coffee and enjoy the stillness of the morning, or maybe saying no to that dessert that was offered, or putting in that extra 5% in training when I think I have nothing else left. Or it can be more intense like having a conversation with a friend to work through an issue, or reaching out to someone to ask for help, or even doing some extra work at night to catch up or get ahead on something.

Today, this day right here, we will NEVER get back, and I mean never. We can’t just wake up on a tuesday, and have it be monday again so we can start the week over again. Of course there are second chances, and sometimes thirds, fourths, etc. But we will never have that chance to have the first chance again. It is something that is extremely easy to talk about, but to actually believe, and live it, every single day, that’s the challenge. This can apply to friendships, work, family, relationships, hobbies, absolutely anything. For me, it applies mostly to my soccer career and friend/family relationships. The training session I do today, I will never get back. I will never get to re-do it. Of course I can do the same session again tomorrow, but then I am missing out on the session I could have been doing tomorrow instead, and there may be factors that change that make it a completely different session. Like my physical energy levels, my training partners, my coach, my equipment, the weather. It will never be exactly the same. I have the opportunity to learn something today, whatever it may be, and that is important. It’s important to take advantage of every single chance we have to get better, not only in soccer, but in life. Every conversation we have, is a chance for something. Whether it’s a loved one calling to say hi, and you have the chance to let them know how you feel, or that you love and miss them, or just that you are thinking of them. Or it’s the chance to work through something, and not leave it for another day. It’s the chance to get information, or give information. It’s a chance to grow.

The journey I am on right now, to represent my country in a home World Cup is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and has really enforced my commitment to taking advantage of every single day, and not letting any second go to waste. The thought that I could possibly wake up in a few months time and think back, “I wish I pushed myself harder in that one session, I wish that I paid more attention in that meeting, I wish I watched more video on myself/this other team etc, that is just something I am not willing to put myself through, and on top of that, I don’t want my teammates to have those same feelings about me. I want to wake up every day knowing I have done everything possible to be my best. I will never get these training sessions back, I will never get this time with my teammates back, I will never get the phone call with my family and friends back. There will be more time for this tomorrow, but any steps backwards is a step in the wrong direction. I am not saying you need a “once in a lifetime opportunity” in front of you to commit to this, but for me, it’s just something that has really re-enforced it into my life, and I know I will carry further into my “life after soccer.”

So are you ready to take the first step? Simply ask yourself that question, what will you do today, that you will thank yourself for tomorrow? If you not only answer that question, but do it, you are on the right track, and remember, before you ask yourself again tomorrow morning, be sure to reflect, and thank yourself for something you did today!