As independent hospitality professionals, it is time to look back on the past year and establish our plan for the upcoming year. This often means we will come face to face with our regrets about past decisions, actions taken or not, both personally and professionally.

“I wish I’d taken that job.”

“I should have pursued my idea.”

“I should have introduced myself to that person.”

“I should have taken that trip.”

“I wish I would not have given up on my dream.”

Most of the time, we use regrets to keep us from moving forward. They paralyze us in the face of the possibilities that lie before us. The key for moving forward is to forgive yourself, because the regrets you are carrying around are keeping you from reaching your true potential.

Recently, one of my mentors shared his learnings with me. “Don’t ever regret taking a shot. Even if you fall short, you learn from it and move on.  You can’t live your life regretting things you tried that didn’t work out.”

He continued:

“You want to talk about regrets?  The biggest regrets you’ll ever have will come from things you don’t do.  They’ll come from great ideas you never acted on.  They’ll come from the potential friend or significant other you didn’t talk to.  Those are things you’ll regret.  Because you’ll never know what might have happened.”

So what does this mean for you?

The one thing that separates the successful from those striving for success is that successful people take action to achieve their desired results. The others always talk about what could have been….but never take action. Sadly, they will probably still be talking at this same time next year!

It is time to take action…no regrets!