My thoughts on ... Regret.

Regret. I think about it a lot.

We all do.?

But I obsess about it. I study it. I read about it, write about it, and coach with it…as a tool.

Regret is fascinating—especially if you can remove yourself from the conversation and study it purely for what it is: A scorecard.

Regret, by definition, is the end—the last remaining emotion.

Regret is what’s left when there are no other options.?

True regret concedes the availability of any other option for a given outcome.

?- I regret never saying I love you...before it was too late;

?- I regret never saying I'm sorry...when that's all that was needed; and

- I regret never taking the shot...when I knew it was mine to take.

Regret comes at the end--an outcome. A place where there is no going back.

If it can still be fixed, it’s not regret—it’s tolerance.

Tolerance is a choice--And you allow for it, or you don't.

You can’t regret a broken relationship if two people are still living, but you sure as shit can tolerate never dealing with it.

Tolerance is fear’s greatest weapon. It is much easier to tolerate never doing anything than to admit we fear trying something. We tolerate our need to look smart over our need to feel joy. We make ourselves feel better by subverting our tolerance for "preparation." And we have done that for years.

Tolerance is a choice born of fear—fear of stepping into who we're meant to be and fear of losing who we've already become.

Tolerance thrives where there is a greater ease in avoiding change than dealing with it.

One day you may come to regret what you tolerate, but…

It will be impossible to regret that which you did not.

Regret is a pure emotion. That's what makes it so beautiful.

There’s rarely confusion about regret. You relive it in black and white. You remember it in terms of dates and times. It haunts you with names, places, phrases, and missed chances.?

It’s heavy and internal, and there’s no going back.?

It comes when there are no other options available. It comes when there’s no more time left. When the window you once had finally shuts forever and turns your last ounce of hope into the dust of an impossible wish.

The impossible wish of regret.

Regret is the reminder of all the places where you let the fear of what might go wrong defeat the curiosity of what might go right. And regret knows the score.

Regret is the score card you will one day hold. It will be filled only with the 0’s and 1’s.

Regret: You will have it, or you will not.

But …

Regret is also a tool. It leaves clues…all around you. It flashes lights, shows you signs, and gives you gut feelings that you listen to or avoid.

Regret is almost always an option—one born from where you draw the line of tolerance in your life.

Because regret is pure, so too is it a tool.

Regret gives you every chance to avoid it. It’s your life’s proverbial rattlesnake—asking you to do anything except approach it. And it gives you every clue to see it for exactly what it is--danger upon you.

If you are this deep into this, then regret is sending you a warning—and you know it.

The proverbial rattle is shaking at you, and you can see it. It's asking you to do anything but tolerate it or accept it.

It is giving you a choice: Tolerate the bite or make a change.

Who knew that regret was ever so wise?

Regret seldom survives the decisions we make, but ...?

Regret will thrive in the decisions we have avoided.

Listen closely here —

The best chapter of your life will be written by starting on the very edge of who you already are. You will take only what you want—and who you want—with you.

The edge of you is visible from where you sit now. You can already imagine who is with you there—on the edge of you. You can see what the other side looks like, how you use your gifts, and how your best work impacts others. And you can feel the joy from this more pure and unapologetic life.

It’s a place where you don’t yet see dollar signs or safety nets. But, ironically, it’s a place that still looks … entirely safe.

This is the place where regret goes to rest, and this is the place that’s calling you. This is the place that the rattle is sending you towards. This is the place the Sunday Pit wants you to see—and begs you to go.

That Monday morning parking lot feeling—it wants you here, on the cutting edge of you, preparing to chase the other side.

And now that you see and feel it, it will be impossible to return from it.?

So now the question is: What will you do with it?

Chase it, or tolerate another yesterday?

The choice is yours. That doesn’t make it easy. That makes it hard. Miserably hard.

But the only regret left for you is the regret of never trying.

This is your day.?

This note is not an accident.?

If you’re here, it’s not the algorithm—it’s you.

And you, my friend, are f*ing ready.

If you need a guide, that’s what I do.

You’ll never regret it.

Normal 40: Your lifetime insurance policy against future regret.

My name is Lon Stroschein. I'm a former public company executive turned voice leader and advocate for people navigating change. I'm also a best-selling Author of The Trade, a coach, the founder of Normal 40, a speaker most companies don't have the appetite for, and the voice of reason in your head.

All of it, by design.

[email protected] finds me.

Find more of you here: https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein