Damian Lang
In a meeting today, one of my business coaches asked me, “What do you want that you don’t have?” From somewhere out of the blue, I said, “I want to be happy where I am right now.” When he asked why, I told him it relieves stress from me demanding myself to do more, more, and more.
It makes me wonder why I still live with regrets of things I have done in the past. Am I slapping myself over and over again, saying I never should have done that in the past? If so, is it doing me any good?
If your child got in trouble for fighting at school, and you smack him and say, “I told you not to hit anyone,” are you teaching him anything about not hitting someone? I don’t think so. So why do we smack ourselves, then tell ourselves not to do it again?
One thing is for sure: We can’t go back in time whether it be 30 years ago or 30 seconds ago. Therefore, we must accept where we are today and get rid of our regrets about what we did or did not do in the past.
When I was a child, I enjoyed camping in a cold damp tent with rain pouring down outside and loved every minute of it. Now I own a large, extremely comfortable motorhome. If I did go back in time to my childhood, would I still love camping in the cold, damp tent? Or would I be miserable knowing there was somewhere more comfortable I could be?
How about the time I was deer hunting, and a friend yelled that there was a big buck ahead of us. I pointed to where the brush was moving and almost pulled the trigger thinking there was no way I could miss it. Something made me hesitate for an extra second, and I saw orange in the same brush. It was not a deer. It was another friend walking in the brush. If I lived it over again, would I have pulled the trigger and potentially killed my best friend?
It’s the life experiences that have made us all who we are today. And, knowing what I do today, I wouldn’t go back in time even if I could.
A friend of mine sent me a YouTube link to Alan Jackson’s song “The Older I Get,” and asked if I had ever listened closely to the lyrics:
The older I get
The more I think
You only get a minute, better live while you’re in it
‘Cause it’s gone in a blink
And the older I get
The truer it is
It’s the people you love, not the money and stuff
That makes you rich
The older I get
The fewer friends I have
But you don’t need a lot when the ones that you got
Have always got your back
And the older I get
The better I am
At knowing when to give
And when to just not give a damn
And if they found a fountain of youth
I wouldn’t drink a drop and that’s the truth
Funny how it feels I’m just getting to my best years yet
The older I get
And I don’t mind all the lines
From all the times I’ve laughed and cried
Souvenirs and little signs of the life I’ve lived
The older I get
The longer I pray
I don’t know why, I guess that I
Got more to say
And the older I get
The more thankful I feel
For the life I’ve had, and all the life I’m living still
Go on YouTube and check it out. The message Jackson delivers is amazing.
When you ask someone if they are happy, the answer always seems to be, “Yes, but.” For example, “Yes, but I need to lose some weight” Or, “Yes, but I can’t sleep.” Or, “Yes, but my golf game sucks.” What is the “but” that is holding you back from enjoying your life the way it is right now?
Something I have learned by studying successful people is those who succeed at a high level aren’t greedy or selfish. They tend to be happy where they are regardless of the current life conditions they are facing. They know sharing with others will help them get more of what they want out of life. When they share, it helps them appreciate those around them and what they have right now.
When I met a friend for breakfast one morning, he held his hands up, looked at the sky, and said, “Wow, I feel like a multimillionaire. Wait a minute, I am a multimillionaire.” He was just poking fun with me, but it told me a lot about where his thoughts were the past 40 years while he was earning his fortune.
As we drive ourselves hard to get to where we are going, remember that happiness is living in the present moment. When you wake up and tell yourself it is going to be a great day, it will be a great day. The more grateful you are for being where you are right now in life, the happier you will be.
Damian Lang is CEO at Lang Masonry Contractors, Wolf Creek Construction, Malta Dynamics, and EZG Manufacturing. To view the products and equipment his companies created to make jobsites more efficient, visit his websites at ezgmfg.com or maltadynamics.com. To receive his free e-newsletters or to speak with Damian on his management systems or products, email:dlang@watertownenterprises.com or call 740-749-3512.