I don’t believe that many people don’t have any regrets in their life. I’m pretty satisfied with the way my life has turned out so far and the plans I have for the future are exciting. So in that aspect, I don’t have any regrets but everybody has something that they would like to change or do better. And like the old Chinese proverb states the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago or today. So getting started on something new is better to do right away.
I played hockey most of my life when I was younger and that’s important to note because, in my later years after my 20s, I rarely played. I love the game and I’ve had so much fun playing. However, I was focused on other things, like working on starting a family. Which of course isn’t a bad thing, plus I wasn’t going to play professional hockey anyway. As my boys get older, I am teaching them how to skate and handle a puck. It’s been a lot of fun finding ways for them to skate and the experience has been eye-opening because when I played, I didn’t find these other ways to play or find ice time.
For example, the local ice rink offers stick and puck ice time that I didn’t even know existed when I was in high school. This would have allowed me to go on the ice for an hour and a half to, shoot around, practice, and all that. Or I could have joined another team and played on two. It never even occurred to me to spend time outside of practice on my own. Personal initiative is a valuable lesson learned. You must learn to take ownership of your time and focus on what you need to do to double down. I didn’t do this and I just stuck with limited practices. I just did the bare minimum required to play high school hockey.
I wasn’t creative enough or driven enough to double down on my efforts. I could’ve played more I could’ve sacrificed more. I could’ve been better. Looking back on it now, even if I just played a couple more hours a week, I could’ve improved my game tremendously but just doing the bare minimum isn’t enough that’s why it’s called the bare minimum. I’m just now, finding out all these new ways to be creative and get on the ice with my boys. The resources are there we just have to find them. I just didn’t know at the time. Maybe it was the motivation, lack of knowledge, or just being a little cocky and thinking I didn’t need the extra practice. And this simply wasn’t true. I did need more time.
So, my biggest regret today is not doubling down on things I was good at. Looking back on things that I have done; I seem to have doubled down on my marriage and my family I put a lot of effort and time investing in them. I’ve doubled down on friendships and put a lot of time into people I care about. This wasn’t a waste of time or a regret I have because I didn’t spend more time playing hockey. I understand the importance of friends and family and the investment it takes to develop and build these relationships.
The point is, I regret not doubling down on things that would’ve been more productive with some more direction, education, or advice. I also didn’t seek out this direction, education, or advice and nobody’s gonna help you if you don’t ask for the help. So now, I have to change directions Mr. doubling down on things that I demon potent to me skills I need to learn to build a better life for me and my family if you like what you do and you know it’s working, put more effort into it double down and get the maximum out of your effort. When you find something that works. Do more of it!
"Doubling down" is a business strategy that involves increasing investment or effort in a particular area to achieve greater returns or success. This term can refer to various actions, such as increasing marketing spend, hiring more staff, expanding a product line, or investing more in research and development.
Know when to cut bait.
This philosophy can also be applied to your personal life. I should have gotten rid of the things in my life that were not productive, fun, or enjoyable out of my life and doubled down on the things that were. Whittled down friends and doubled down on the people that helped you grow. Then transfer and combine the amount of time and energy to the things that were projecting my life further rather than holding me back. Take a look at how you spend your time and who you spend it with. If you are not projecting forward make some hard decisions and make the necessary changes to do so. I am glad I have learned this lesson and am connecting the dots between what I have done and what I need to do now. This lesson was learned 30 years too late but it is always better late than never.
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