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在我二十五六岁的时候，我就开始问自己这个问题。我都不明白，为什么在那么年轻的时候，我就有意识地问自己这样的问题。就大多数同龄人而言，我们对于时间、机遇以及它们的稍纵即逝都不太有强烈的观念。我们都沉湎于活在当下。毫无疑问，我曾经也是这么生活的。

但是，不知怎的，大概是因为家庭中那些我所钦佩的人，我开始把这个问题放到我的整个人生中，其中也包括我的事业以及如何追求这事业。我开始发现，我并不对当时处理事情的方法感到愉快。或者，更准确的来说，我并不对当时没有在做的事情感到愉快。

这个关于“日后我可能会后悔的问题”让我对自己的未来有了很多思考。我开始严肃的思考，什么事情对我来说是最有意义的，以及当我回顾人生或是事业的时候，什么事情可能会让我觉得最自豪。这让我思考，我想要成为什么样的人，以及我希望日后我是如何成功的。尽管当时，我对我的人生和事业还没有什么想法，但是我试图寻找答案的这个开始让我意识到我不想做什么，以及我不想日后发生什么。

我不想每天上班做一些不能启发我，让我做到最好的工作。我不想只是机械的做动作，却不真正在意我正在做什么。我不想觉得自己没能达到天分与机遇所应带给我的成就。但是，最重要的是，我不想成为那种不懂感恩或是浪费才华的人。

同时，我也不想最终成为一个因为自己没有做的事情，而对事物持有消极观点和看法的人。我不想成为一个总在辩白为什么一些事不能完成的人。相反，我想成为一个投入精力和汗水，找出做事方法，并对他人产生积极影响的人。

当我最先开始思考什么事日后可能会让我后悔的时候，我在做的事情还非常少，以至于我还没什么好后悔的。当时，我害怕冒险，害怕失败，害怕接受挑战去弄清楚现实会是多么美好或多么糟糕。我逃避责任。我总是选择保险的那条路。我很少完全投入到什么事中，我总是有理由不去做一些事情。我知道，我不能再任由这些事情发生了。刚开始，这样的转变很缓慢。但是，我开始试着像我想成为的人那样做事情。

如今，我更加年长，也经历了一些事情，我可以告诉你们，你最后悔的事情不是那些你做了的事情，而是那些你没做的事情。我明白了，与后悔相比，接受失望其实更容易。我认识到了，没能打败你的事情让你更坚强；你所经历的任何事情，都能让你成长，让你学到关于自身的一些新东西。

相信我，我没能完成很多我曾尝试追求或达到的事情。在很多时候，面对失望与挫折，我不得不对自己承认，“我想，我没自己想的那么好吧。”但是，我意识到了，无论何时，只要你能够面对恐惧，克服自我怀疑，不论结果如何你都会觉得非常棒。带着勇气、诚实和正直生活，会为你的内心带来一种平静。

你呢？你觉得有什么事情你日后可能会后悔？无论是什么事，我都鼓励你在人生的早期阶段，花些时间去认清它们。然后，从今天开始，致力于避免日后的这些遗憾。因为，我相信，没有人希望自人生的主要方面是由我本该做这个或本可以做这个来定义的。对于很多人来说，人生的主要方面就是你的事业以及你为之所做的事情。

 What Are The Things That You Think You Might Regret Someday?

This is a question I started asking myself back in my mid-20s. I’m not even sure how I had the presence of mind to ask such a question when I was that young. For most around that age, our sense of time and opportunity and how quickly they can pass us by is not that keen. We’re more caught up in just living for the day. This was certainly the way I was then.

But somehow, perhaps from those in my family whom I really looked up to, I began applying this question to my entire life, including my career and how I was pursuing it. I started noticing that I wasn’t happy with the way I was approaching the things I was doing, or more accurately, the things I wasn’t doing.

This question about what I might someday regret made me think a lot about my future. I began putting some serious thought into what was most meaningful to me and what I might feel most proud of when I looked back on my life and career. It made me think about the kind of person I wanted to be and what I hoped my success would look like someday. So even though I still had no idea as far as what I should do with my life or career, my starting point to trying to find out was recognizing what I didn’t want to do, and what I didn’t want to continue to see happen.

I knew I didn’t want to show up in a job each day that I was not inspired to be the best at. I didn’t want to just go through the motions and not really care about what I was doing. I didn’t want to feel that I achieved much less than the talent and opportunities given to me. I didn’t want to look at myself someday and see someone who did much less than what he could have. But mostly, I didn’t want to be the type of person who lacked an appreciation for what he had, or who wasted what he was given.

I also didn’t want to end up as someone who had a negative outlook and view of things because of all the things he didn’t do. I didn’t want to be someone who was always justifying why something couldn’t be done. Instead, I wanted to a person who put his energy and effort into figuring out how to do things and how to have a positive impact on others.

When I first began thinking about what I might regret later on, I was doing very little then that might allow me to avoid such regret. I was afraid of taking chances. I was afraid of failure. I was afraid of taking on challenges to find out how good I realize was, or might not be. I avoided responsibility. I always took the safe road. I rarely applied myself fully and always had an excuse for not doing something. I knew I couldn’t continue to let these things happen. It was a slow start at first, but I began trying to do things more in line with the type of person I wanted to become someday.

Being much older now and having gone through the things I have, I can tell you that it’s not the things that you do that you’ll regret most, but the things that you don’t do that you most regret. I’ve learned that it’s easier to live with disappointment than regret. I’ve learned that whatever doesn’t kill you make you stronger, and that everything you experience in your life you grow from and learn something new about yourself.

Believe me, I have fallen short in many things I’ve tried to pursue and achieve. There have been many moments, where from a disappointment or setback, I just had to admit to myself, “I guess I’m not quite as good as I thought I was.” But I’ve learned that you feel good whenever you’re able to face your fears and overcome your doubts, regardless of the outcome. And that living your life with courage, honesty, and integrity brings a kind of peace to your heart and mind.

How about you? What are the things that you think you might regret someday? Whatever they may be, I encourage you to take the time to recognize them at this earlier stage of your life. And then start working on how to avoid those regrets later on, beginning today. Because living a life of what you should have or could have done is not a way I believe anyone wants to define key aspects of your life. For many, this includes in a big way your career and what you do with it.

（责任编辑：职场达人）