Theres No Dress Rehearsal In Life

“She called me a bad name.” “He took my toy.” “She didn’t like my dress.” “I had it first.” Ah yes, the thrill of being young again.
Remember how important these things seemed when we were young? In retrospect, they now seem so trivial.
Of course, as we get older and wiser, we focus on important things, like showing our friends how successful we’ve become, outflanking others to get a promotion, keeping up with the Joneses, and ensuring that we look young — forever. You’d think we’d have learned something from our kindergarten days, wouldn’t you?
The truth is, we’re often so busy running on our treadmill to nowhere that we can lose focus on the things that really matter in life. Before we know it, the seconds have become minutes, the days have become weeks, and the months have become years. And when we finally take time to catch our breath, we look back in retrospect and think, “Where did all the time go?”
It’s so easy to be blinded by ambition, power, and success that many folks miss out on the simple pleasures of life. For example, did your children’s birthday parties, Little League games, or dance recitals make your priority list? Were you available to counsel your friend in need? Did you make the time to help your kids with their homework, to attend back-to-school nights, or to put down your newspaper/telephone/iPad when your family wanted to tell you about their day? Or was something else more important to you at the time?
Now, I know that you lead a hectic life and that you’re getting pulled in a million different directions. The truth is, it’s not that you don’t have enough time to devote to things that matter to you — but rather, the time needed was spent doing something else.
It goes without saying that every time you decide to focus on one thing in your life, you’ve also decided not to spend that time on something else.
Unfortunately, once opportunities are lost, they’re often lost forever — life doesn’t come with a dress rehearsal. So, if you think you may regret the path you’re on, it may be time to change course.