Stop Regretting and Start Planting: A 2-Step Guide to Owning Your Future

We’ve all experienced that depressing feeling of looking at our massive to-do list and wanting to run in the opposite direction. Whether it’s a project at work or a personal goal, we often avoid the "big things" because they feel hard, time-consuming, and demanding.

Often the weight of procrastination is fueled by something even heavier: regret.

1. Let Go of the "Should-Haves"

There is an old saying that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the next best time is right now. It’s easy to get trapped in a cycle of wishing we had started sooner or knew then what we know now.

However, as a powerful lyric from a song at my church says:

"I don’t have time to maintain these regrets".

When you spend your energy maintaining regrets about what you should have done in the past, you lose the focus needed to plant the trees that will change your life in six months, a year, or even ten years.

2. Move Your "Big Rocks"

Once you stop looking backward, you can focus on what Stephen Covey calls your "Big Rocks". These are the high-priority tasks that actually move the needle. Even if you’ve been avoiding them for a long time, the reality is that they are rarely as bad as you imagine once you actually start.

Don't waste another minute thinking about the trees you didn't plant in the past. Instead, focus on the trees you can plant today.

What can you do right now that will make a difference in six months, a year, 10 years, 15 years? Go do those things and let the regrets go.