WE NEED TO BE SO MUCH BETTER AT EXPRESSING OURSELVES. We know that we aren’t very good listeners, but we are also not very good talkers. We tend to shy away from telling people things, because we’re afraid of their reaction, or or because we fear that they will see us a “a burden” or “too emotional.” And yet, day after day, people share stories with me that they wish they could tell their families, but won’t

We also make the mistake of thinking that things don’t really need to be said, because we are sure that the other person knows how we feel. The truth is that, no matter how much you think you know a person, if you try to guess what they are thinking, you will be wrong more than 50% of the time. In other words, YOU ARE PROBABLY WRONG! That’s why we need to be able to speak more openly about everything. Until that happens, there will be a lot of people out there who are mad at each other for reasons that don’t even exist. There will also be a lot of people out there who don’t know what others like about them because we’re wrong about that, too.

I learned that lesson in the very last days of my father’s life, which makes me one of the luckiest people I know. You’ll see in the video, that that my family and I told my father how we felt about him just in time. In time for him to hear what he deserved to hear. And in time for us to be spared the regret of not saying the things that we needed to say. For my money, one of the most important goals in life is to have as few regrets as possible. They sit on top of us like giant weights that make us feel just awful about ourselves, and make us that much more afraid of putting ourselves out there again.

Most people understand that we all make mistakes. I hope you’re one of those people, or you may just stay angry at a lot of things without much reason. Mistakes happen when we’re young because we haven’t learned enough yet not to make them. And, we make them when we’re older because we’ve had so much time on earth to screw things up, that we do. Avoiding a topic rarely changes anything, so you’ll have to confront it to move past it. Not everyone will be receptive, but most will. Most will be surprised to learn that you felt the way that you do. But at least you’ll know that you said what was deep down inside of you, and that you let the other person know that their feelings really do matter to you.

IF YOU’RE AFRAID TO SAY IT FACE TO FACE, OR IF YOU WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW, SAY IT HERE!

Maybe your loved one will read it. Maybe someone else will learn from your insights. Either way, it’s a win-win.