Reaching Old Age Without Regrets 

Many times we find ourselves pausing in the middle of a workload, questioning if we are on the right track in our lives. Our daily schedules are filled up with meetings, deadlines, and occasionally leisure activities. But we are doubtful if these are the things that should be occupying us.

Then we are tempted to look at our friends and neighbors, to see if we are progressing like them. And that’s when we make a big mistake. When we start comparing our lives to others, thinking that it’s how to gauge if we’re living our lives correctly, we start getting anxious and might even go off-track.

Although many of us have different goals in life, we all hope that when we finally join a retirement community, we will enjoy that new phase in life without regrets. It’s not as simple as it seems, which is why we keep looking for standards that we think would keep us on track.

Instead of doing that, here are a few tips on how you could set your life in line. It’s not dependent on anyone else. It only asks you to look at yourself.

Understand yourself.

You can’t simply fit into the molds that society has set. Some people want to experience as much as they can while some want to acquire as much as they can. Each one of us has a different set of values as well as talents. We have different strengths and weaknesses.

It’s never a good idea to look at others’ accomplishments in gauging our progress. It’s not even just a matter of your time to bloom. Rather, it’s a matter of how you will bloom.

Set small targets other than your goals.

If we think about our life goals, it could feel daunting. Break them into smaller targets that you could achieve in a time frame. People often talk about bucket lists. It’s more or less the same except that accomplishing these would slowly bring you to your goal.

For example, one material goal might be to build a dream house by the beach, where you would spend your retirement years. Smaller targets would be first to build good credit in five to ten years. Another target is to buy the land. Then you start working on how you will finally save enough money to build your home. Again, you could break the amount into smaller targets per year. Don’t make it big. Enough so that you’re not overwhelmed with the figure, at the same time you don’t get lazy.

Create a diary or a daily log.

Targets don’t have to be big nor take a year to accomplish. They could be simple tasks you could do any day. For example, if your overall goal is to live a long and healthy life, your transition to a healthy living could be done on a day to day improvement in your decisions. For example, you set a date when you would give up smoking. You record those days when you were able to go for a run. You will see not only the big accomplishments in your life but also little ones. You get to record when you first baked a cake, when you first finished a triathlon, and even when you got to explore interesting nooks and crannies in your locality.

Build deep relationships.

You don’t need to have a lot of acquaintances. What you need is just a handful of friends who will be there to stick with you through thick or thin. This is another case of quality over quantity.

If you have a set of good friends, you wouldn’t mind what people will think of you as long as you have those who you know will understand you. They may not agree with you in all instances, but you know they will be there for you in your darkest moments. Even when you commit grave mistakes, instead of judging you, they will give you advice on how you can get back up. Having this kind of people surround you is already a guarantee that you wouldn’t have regrets when you are old.

At the end of the day, life without regrets is making informed decisions. They are not always right, but you know why you did it. Always understand the choices you are about to make. So that when you realize your mistake, you will be able to take responsibility for it, and act on it instead of useless blaming either another person or yourself. Your goals and targets are there to keep you in check, while your friends are there for you to share a life full of meaning.