I wish I would have...

I was meeting with a recent college grad who shared that he wished he had studied abroad during his college career. I told him that I wished I had too. We share that regret, but we also explored that if it had truly been important to us then we would have made it happen. So maybe it isn’t so much a regret as it just wasn’t a priority at the time. 

Since that conversation, I keep thinking about how important it is to be intentional about the chapters of our lives. And, the importance of giving ourselves a softer lens with which to see our regrets. 

When we pause to set intentions, we get to live a life we designed, with less regret and more thriving.

Of course, things will be thrown our way that we didn’t see coming, but if we are living with intention, we find more meaning in our days, even the hard ones.

Here are some ideas to help you think about intentionality in your current chapter of life:

• What are some things you want to experience this summer?

• Name a few things you want to happen in the next two years.

• Who do you want to spend your time with?

• What are your priorities for the next six months?

• What do you want to be sure you do in high school?

• What college experiences do you want to have?

• What do you not want to happen?

• As you begin a new job, what do you want to make sure you do well?

• If a new friendship is fun, what do you want to do to make it last?

• If you feel good right now, what is the formula to sustain this feeling? 

• Before a certain person in your life moves away, declines, or is deceased what do you want to be sure you do together?

• What are things you feel are a “must-do” in the next five years?

• When you look back at this chapter of life, what might you regret not doing?

• When you look back at this chapter, what do you want to be proud of?

“I wish I would have…” can be a powerful tool of introspection to help us move forward with greater intentionality. 

Create a vision for this next season or chapter of your life. Get as clear as you can on what you value and what you want. Then, leave space for it to align and unfold as it is meant to be.

It is never too late. That thing you wished you would have done, find a way to make it happen now. It might not look exactly the same as it would have then, but it also might be even better. 

Things happen the way they are meant to, but these are also your precious days on this planet so be intentional about how you want to live them.