I walked into his office for our coaching session, and I knew something was very wrong. He was often upset over issues with his company, his board, his shareholders—but this was profoundly different.
I could barely understand his words. “I have so many regrets,” he sobbed, “and now it’s too late.”
In the flash of an instant, life has a way of causing us to rethink everything. What if that happened to you, right now? How would you respond?
Would you spend more time in the office or would identify what you value most?
As leaders we are constantly busy with deadlines and responsibilities and people who rely on us, but we have little time for ourselves. What if we stopped doing what keeps us so busy and started doing what matters most? In the end, we will never look back with regret if we are being true to what we value most in life.
Take time to fill the gaps between the person you are and the person you want to become.
Would you keep doing what others expect of you, or would you find the courage to be more true to who you are?
For leaders, social pressures are an inescapable reality. How can we develop the courage to differentiate ourselves from the masses? How can we follow our heart and pursue our passion? In the end, what truly matters is that we find our voice and unleash our true potential.
Make each day matter and live at being the best version of you.
Would you continue to wear your mask, or would you fearlessly express your deepest feelings?
As leaders we have this idea that we must not show our feelings. We are afraid of expressing our feelings for fear of being seen as vulnerable or weak. Although we have the capacity to express ourselves, we hold back. How can we learn to be more authentic about what we feel? It’s a great legacy for those around us to know we spoke from our heart and we stood up for what we believed in.
We can freeze up our feelings or we can learn to thaw out our heart.
Would you continue to be too busy for the people who matter to you, or would you boldly show them how much you care?
As leaders, we know that our trusted relationships are our anchors. But it’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day busy-ness and lose track of the people who ground us.They are the ones who boost our confidence, who are there when we are challenged, who lift our spirits when we are stuck in a rut. Take nothing for granted and keep those precious relationships active -make the time- in turn, those relationships will let us know we can make a difference.
Live your life without regrets and make unconditional love the way of your leadership.
Would you stay angry with someone who has wronged you, or learn to forgive and give them a second chance?
When someone wrongs or hurts us, we have a choice: To stay in pain or to forgive with compassion. To stay angry will keep the circumstance unresolved. It will only end up causing us more pain. But while someone has wronged us once, we may give them the gift of a second chance, for this time, they might just make things right.
Each moment spent in regret is a moment lost.
Lead From Within: Life will have a way of causing all of us to pause, but we don’t have to wait for that day to make the most of our life. Commit RIGHT NOW to make the most of your moments, and to begin building a life that is free of regret and reflects how you want to be remembered.
N A T I O N A L B E S T S E L L E R
The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness
After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.
Additional Reading you might enjoy:
- 12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
- A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
- How to Succeed as A New Leader
- 12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
- 4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
- The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
- The Deception Trap of Leadership
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.
Warning: Use of undefined constant woothemes - assumed 'woothemes' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /srv/www/paramvir.0001.ro/lollydaskal/wp-content/themes/lolly-daskal/comments.php on line 23
Warning: Use of undefined constant woothemes - assumed 'woothemes' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /srv/www/paramvir.0001.ro/lollydaskal/wp-content/themes/lolly-daskal/comments.php on line 23
Warning: Use of undefined constant woothemes - assumed 'woothemes' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /srv/www/paramvir.0001.ro/lollydaskal/wp-content/themes/lolly-daskal/comments.php on line 23
16 Responses
Warning: Use of undefined constant woothemes - assumed 'woothemes' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /srv/www/paramvir.0001.ro/lollydaskal/wp-content/themes/lolly-daskal/comments.php on line 23
to “Live and Lead Without Regrets”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
-
April 4, 2014
[…] Live and Lead Without Regrets by Lolly Daskal […]
Terri Klass
04. Mar, 2014
We do need to be authentic and makes choices that matter to each of us. Regrets are a waste of time.
Reach out to the people who we care about and spend less time with situations that don’t bring us fulfillment.
Love your post and words, Lolly!
lollydaskal
04. Mar, 2014
Thank you Terri,
Regrets keep us in the past. Forgiveness and love keeps us in the present.
Martina
04. Mar, 2014
Excellent post, Lolly. And, curiously, I have been tinkling about this as well.
Regret keeps us in the bound to the past, but it also ruins the joy and enjoyment of today and takes away from the thoughts of a brighter or different future. Regrets can be paralyzing.
And you are correct, the best ways to move away from this potentially consuming and destructive mindset is with love, forgiveness, and grace, for others, and for ourselves.
lollydaskal
04. Mar, 2014
The other day, I had a conversation with someone and I asked them- do you think leaders think of regrets, and he answered, maybe they don’t but they should.
Life is to short not to take stock.
Looking at our regrets only gets us closer to where we want to be and how we want to be remembered.
Thanks Martina, for your constant support and beautiful insights.
You are deeply appreciated.
Hope all is well
Lolly
LaRae Quy
04. Mar, 2014
To live a life full of regrets is to live a wasted life.
Thanks for the reminder…we need to let go so that something bigger, bolder, and better can take hold
Love this sentence: “Commit RIGHT NOW to make the most of your moments, and to begin building a life that is free of regret and reflects how you want to be remembered.”
Loved this post, Lolly
lollydaskal
07. Mar, 2014
Thanks LaRae you are so right. We need something bigger, bolder, and better can take hold…..
Lets stop living a wasted life. Lets take each moment and appreciate each other.
I appreciate you so much.
Lolly
E.B. Davis
04. Mar, 2014
Forgiveness is not about the other person, it is about the forgiver. We have to learn to forgive others as well as ourselves
sridhar laxman
04. Mar, 2014
Lolly
Thank you for this wonderful post.
‘Make each day matter and live at being the best version of you’ is a powerful and inspiring intent to have.
The shadow of regret that prevents people with incredible talent from shining does not deserve to linger on.
Joy is…….. in the present!
lollydaskal
07. Mar, 2014
Joy is in the present … and leadership is not for the faint of heart!
It takes courage to lead and live without regrets!
Thanks Sridhar!
Appreciate you.
Chery Gegelman
07. Mar, 2014
Lolly – What a gripping story to open your post!
I remember thinking in my younger years that I would never be that person that put work before family… And then one day I was that person.
I remember reading a story about a holocaust survivor forgiving a Nazi Prison guard that was responsible for her sisters death as a child and believe that what she did had to be so hard, but being inspired by her choice and wanting to be like her. …And then when I faced something of much less significance in my life struggling hard to do the same.
Your post reminds me how easy it is to get off the track of who we want to be and how important it is to have people in our lives that help us adjust our path and stay focused on our vision.
Thank you for being one of those people!
lollydaskal
07. Mar, 2014
Thanks Chery.
Each one of us gets caught up in …
Busy life.
Busy family.
Busy obligations.
The pausing.
The remembering.
Helps us to reflect on what is important.
What we come to understand is that Forgiveness, Love, and Compassion are what matters.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing with us the heartfelt story.
Lolly
Agus
09. Mar, 2014
Thanks to share for the resonate article.
This one deeply inspiring me.
May God bless you.
Julianna
18. Jul, 2014
Fantastic article!
avikash chan
14. Aug, 2014
Wonderfull inspiring and touching post here..
my thoughts
Each day is a gift not a given life, we all got to live life like we are never living twice… plus realize none of us are a failure in life
shany
05. Dec, 2014
love your thoughts and post lolly, excellent and meaning full post