Sometimes a lack of confidence is a good sign: it indicates that you recognize room for improvement, which I’d say is better than never feeling the need to improve. – Stephanie, Copyediting

I shared on our discussion posts in my copyediting class that I didn’t make a lot of edits on our practice assignment because I lack confidence in my editing skills. I like to write, and so I get hung up on avoiding too many edits, so it doesn’t come across as if I am trying to rewrite the author’s words. One of my classmates shared this in response to my post, and I really appreciated her words.

As I seek to change careers and secure a new job, the word humility has come up more than once.  Frankly, I am fine with starting at an entry-level position, as I am an entry-level candidate.  I made some really unwise career choices, and now I am having to pay the price for them.  I take full responsibility for my past decisions and strive to employ humility as I look toward the future.

Last year, I faced the worst moment of my entire life, and I am still standing.  I love the Christina Aguilera song “Fighter” because grit and resilience are what we all will need in the coming days. I have to remind myself that these challenging times are developing my strength, and like Christina sang

But in the end I wanna thank you,‘Cause you’ve made me that much stronger
These hard times and my regrets have made me that much stronger.

The Power of Regret: – Lack of risk = Missed Opportunities

As I read the book “The Power of Regret” by Daniel Pink, I realize that my lack of risk-taking over the last few years has come at a significant cost. The most considerable cost has been missed opportunities.  My lack of risk and failure to try anything new also resulted in lost opportunities. The lack of peer influence and connection has resulted in significant missed opportunities. There are missed connections, missed exposure, missed relationships, and so forth.

My exit strategy may seem risky, but I think it’s more dangerous to continue down the same path. Consider what would happen if I stayed with this for ANOTHER year.

  • Continued Low Pay and increased cost for benefits
  • Another lost year of retirement funding
  • More missed opportunities for peer connection and peer learning
  • More missed opportunities for learning, growth, and networking
  • Continued lack of experience to get a better job
  • Continued stagnation in life with no movement in sight
  • Boredom and depression

I don’t even want to take time off and go on vacation because vacation means I would have to come back, and I don’t want to return. I want to be done.

Regret is for fuel: Feeling is for thinking, and that thinking is for doing.

According to Daniel Pink, the author of The Power of Regret, “Regret is for feeling, feeling is for thinking, and thinking is for doing.“  Regret is fuel that prevents us from making the same mistakes again. Pink suggests that discussing and writing about regret is beneficial in several ways. Language gives us a way to organize our thoughts, it helps build affinity, and it doesn’t bind us up and tear us down.

 

My biggest regret in my adult life is not quitting as a trainer ten years ago. The lack of financial reward, missed opportunities, social isolation, and the chance to build work experience have shown this to be an unwise choice.  

 

My other big regret is spending five years deeply involved in a church community. That was another mistake that my family kept warning me about, but I didn’t listen. I thought I was doing the right thing. The most significant benefit is that I learned what kind of life I do not want, and it enabled me to shed this repressive religious identity I’ve held onto. 

All I can come up with is that this time period in my life was to teach me great lessons that I need for the future. Stop settling, stop choosing the short stick, and don’t apologize for wanting more. I shudder at the thought of what type of life  I was willing to settle for due to hyperspiritualization.  After leaving all that behind, sometimes it feels like I came out of a fever dream. It is time to let it go, which makes James Clear’s question of the week all the more relevant.

If I want to feel that I have enough right now, what do I need to stop doing or let go of?

I need to let go of the fact that I have somehow missed it. Just like with the George Michael show, I have not missed my future. I haven’t missed it. It is there waiting for me, but I need to get out of the wrong line and course-correct.

I really do not want to train anymore. I don’t even tell people that training is what I do because it is embarrassing. I am so sorry I wasted so much time on this when I could have been doing something that provided financial stability and a better quality of life. Yes, I chose the short stick, but I don’t have to keep picking it.

I need to let go of the idea that I missed it, so I can move forward and not be stuck in this life.

I do not.

GET OUT OF LINE AND GO TO THE RIGHT SHOW.

THE SHOW WILL START RIGHT ON TIME.

 Week 4 Level Up challenge

I actually forgot Friday’s weigh-in. I think I am enjoying the process over the results.  I know results are coming because I can see them somewhat, but I am more excited about the habits I am forming, such as waking up at 4:45 to work out four mornings a week, with at least one day at the gym.  I am also pleased to be loading weight back on the bar again. I am pulling 95lbs on the Hex Bar for working sets, and I have a goal to get back up to 135 again. I am even toying with the idea of getting back on the squat rack again, especially during the holiday time.

I did something really stupid. I have a mild form of Crohn’s disease, and I have been feeling pretty good. I ran out of medicine about five months ago, and so I stopped taking them. Last week, things started going downhill again, and I hurried up and ordered more medication.  I started taking my medicine, and I am feeling better. DUH!