Dr. Robert Waldinger
Appearances
The Mel Robbins Podcast
8 Habits That Will Change Your Life: The Expert Advice You Need This Year
The biggest regrets Two categories. One was, I wish I hadn't spent so much time at work. I wish I had spent more time with people I cared about. Almost the number one regret. And then the other regret, and this came more from women than from men, was I wish I hadn't worried so much about what other people thought. And so those are the two big regrets.
The Mel Robbins Podcast
8 Habits That Will Change Your Life: The Expert Advice You Need This Year
The things that people were proudest of were not their achievements. And many people had achieved a lot. It was people. It was, I was a good mentor. I was a good partner. I was a good parent. I was a good boss. You know, it was always about the relationships. Even among people who had won huge prizes or gotten big accolades, that's not what they named when they were looking back on their life.
The Mel Robbins Podcast
8 Habits That Will Change Your Life: The Expert Advice You Need This Year
Well, it's realizing that, first of all, most of that's not going to matter when we're dead, right? But what will matter, am I treating people well? That will matter, and people will remember it even after we're gone. It's not what people think, but it's what I do. So one of the sayings I like a lot is, 20 years from now, the only people who will remember whether you worked late are your children.
The Mel Robbins Podcast
8 Habits That Will Change Your Life: The Expert Advice You Need This Year
And so if you think about it, so much of what we worry about, like, is my boss going to like me? Are people going to think I'm a good this or that? It's not going to matter down the road. But whether I was a good ethical person, that's going to matter a lot.
The Mel Robbins Podcast
8 Habits That Will Change Your Life: The Expert Advice You Need This Year
We matter and our behavior matters, but it's not necessarily other people's opinions about whether my curtains were the right shade of blue on the windows.