An interview study of regret among dying cancer patients reveals that by far the most of them regret working too much. I regret the odd thing myself now and then, but working a lot is something I’ll never come to regret. I work with fire and passion, and that way I reach a wonderful quality of work – which, the way I see it, is a precondition for quality of life.
The way I see it, you have to try really hard to regret something you did with passion. If you’ve truly burned for an idea, a task or a project, will you later regret spending a lot of time on it?
I wish I hadn’t worked so much
I got to thinking about regret and passion when I came across a book written by the Australian nurse Bronnie Ware. She works with seriously ill cancer patients, whom she interviewed shortly before they died. She asked the patients what they regretted most in their lives.
One of the most frequent answers was “I wish I hadn’t worked so much”.
Did your wife say “I do” in church because she found you interesting?
Should we regret something most of us have no real chance of changing anyway? Should we regret that we work, or worked, a lot in a world where having a job is a precondition for surviving and being well?
I feel about work the way I feel about love. When I proposed to my wife, I didn’t say to her: “I find you really interesting. Will you marry me?” I feel the same way about my work; I don’t find giving talks and workshops interesting. For me, giving talks and workshops is a burning passion. And I feel that way every single time!
Your passion is what keeps regret away
My point is that we mustn’t put ourselves in a situation where we come to regret working, and often working a lot. And we keep regret at bay through passion. When we work with passion – even if our work takes up a great deal of time – we won’t regret, on our final day, that we worked hard along the way.
Why Steve Jobs had no regrets
I don’t believe Steve Jobs, in the final stretch of his life, regretted working hard. I don’t believe Nelson Mandela, during his nearly 30 years in prison, regretted his commitment to the ANC. I don’t believe Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, during her many years of house arrest, regretted fighting with passion for democracy and human rights under her country’s military dictatorship. And I’m certain you won’t come to regret the many hours at work if you let passion drive you.
/Martin
– Thank goodness it’s almost Monday!
