Tuesday, July 19

without regrets.


somedays i think about where i could be in life...
i think about the things i "should have done".
i would be a completely different person if that were the case.

i've always lived my life without regret.
it's kind of been a moto of mine...
to live without regrets.
i feel like i've lived life to it's fullest so far.
and i'm so happy i have.

i love who i am and where i'm headed.
i'm so happy to have the people in my life that i do.
especially my husband.
we've both worked so hard to be where we are.

and with that said, 
it doesn't mean that i don't get frustrated, sad, discouraged...
because i do.

i see other people who are my age & people who are younger
and sometimes can't help but be frustrated, sad or discouraged at the idea of
where they are in their lives already.

while my friends were off getting
husbands
&
degrees
&
having kids
&
buying homes
&
starting careers...

i was figuring out how to make it through the next day.

so yes.
sometimes i want to sit down and cry when i see
all the things others have accomplished at such young ages.
it can be discouraging.
it can make me lose sight of everything i've worked for thus far.


but then i get a text that says,

"we're each on our own path.
yours is beautiful.
don't compare it to hers."


...and she's right.

i can't compare it to hers...
or his
or theirs for that matter.
i can only continue to be grateful for all the things i've learned on my path
and keep living my life without regrets.


i hope that each of you have a friend as good as mine...
to remind you of what's really important in life.



elisabeth

14 comments:

sarah nicole said...

<3

S

Jennifer said...

Great post! I wish I had a friend like you do. Unfortunately my friends tend to only keep in contact viz Facebook. ANNOYING.

I am also happy with my life but I also get upset at times when I see other people's accomplishments.

jessica said...

Wow. and I thought I was the only one who felt like this! I try so hard not to compare myself to others but it can be hard - especially in the blog world and on Facebook! You're happy with YOUR life and that's what matters :)

eliz said...

Oh yea don't compare yourself with other people because you never know if their life is even that great and if they are happy with all those things..
Everyone is different
Happiness means something different to everyone :-)

kimbirdy said...

it's so true. we each have our own unique path which is right for us, even if that doesn't look like every one else's, and i think one of the hard things about becoming an adult is learning to come to terms with how different adulthood is from how you always pictured it would be growing up.

for me, i never wanted to have kids, a home, a career, or even a husband. i love having my nontraditional life, but it's definitely hard sometimes when most of the world around me reacts with sympathy and worry. i definitely get the "no kids? oh... well, there's still time..." plus, as 30ish year olds, it's so hard still living on pennies when our friends with established careers are enjoying the high life. have you seen away we go? love that movie. anyway, i think there are very likely friends who look at your life and wish they had done things differently in order to make their life look more like yours.

Sarah Pete said...

Such beautiful advice. Comparison gives us a warped lense of our own lives and others.

I've been struggling with this as well, watching some of my friends make more money, or travel, or buy homes, or move across the country or across the sea. And here I am, in a little rental, making ends meet, in the same town where I grew up.
Still, life is beautiful and such a gift.

Thanks for being so honest in your post. :]

Mighty Burns said...

I have the same goal, to be regret free.. and so far I think I have also done a great job. But its as if your peeping into my life to see that I too have looked at friend who are my age, or younger and see all that they have done and think "why didnt I...?" But non of that matters, and the thing I have is all my own and shaped by those tough nights, and wild mid night drives :)

Caitlin said...

Great post! So honest, and I'm glad you're working to be regret-free. Good for you!

des said...

beautifully spoken.
you are wonderful!

thegirlhassparke said...

i can really relate to this. so many people I know are getting married, having babies and buying homes and I am no where near that stage. you just have to live YOUR life and remember others are probably envious of some of the things you have that they dont.

Jess at Just Rainbows and Butterflies said...

I completely understand. Since graduating college, I have been laid off and then bounced to two different jobs. I look at some of my friends who love their jobs, have gotten promoted and I wonder if I will ever find something I love, but I have to keep reminding myself-it will work out and it will make sense in the end.

Becky Andrews said...

beautiful message.

Courtney B said...

Oh I just love this post!! Thank you so much for sharing!!
I think we all need this reminder... it is too easy to get caught up in others lives. We try really hard not to compare ourselves to those around us because we do live different lives for a reason. We each find happiness and fulfillment from experiences that would not affect others in the same way. Does this even make sense?? I hope so! :)

pigwidget said...

One other thought: we each have our own lessons to learn and in our own separate time. I often wonder what my life would have been like if I had settled with my uni sweetheart or had kids younger. But then I think: I wasn't ready then, things didn't work out that way. What I have now is where I should be. No regrets.