YOu Can Still Plant Trees, So Plant One

​I have spent more time than usual living in the land of regret this past week. I honestly don’t know where it came from—regrets can be stealthy that way. But in several areas of my life, I’ve found myself thinking: If only I had done THAT back then, my life would look like THIS right now.

I’ve caught myself thinking that way about relationships, finances, my writing, and the work I do.

The good news is that I’m at a place in my life where I recognize when I’m in the land of regret. And I know that regrets only have one job: to keep us so busy thinking about what we could have done that we lose sight of what we’re still capable of doing.

Regrets want us to believe that while we’re staring at a full-grown tree, if we didn’t plant our own twenty years ago, there’s no point in planting one now.

Today is the Super Bowl. I don’t have much of a rooting interest in the teams involved, but I am a big fan of the game itself.

I’m always awed by the athleticism of these players. And I think what often sets apart the individuals and teams that play in these SUPER-SIZED games is their ability to stay focused on what they can and need to do right now.

It’s their focus in the pre-season. It’s their focus in practices. It’s their focus in meetings. And so, when the big game comes, they’re prepared—able to stay locked in on their role, in that play, in that moment.

They don’t look at big trees and lament the one they should have planted twenty years ago. They imagine what that tree might become if they plant it right now.

I often watch these games and imagine—what if I had that kind of athleticism?

The reality is, I never did, and I never will. But I do share a superpower with every one of those freak athletes: I have the power to plant something today that will be meaningful tomorrow. The one thing that stands most in my way of doing that? Getting stuck thinking about all the things I should have planted yesterday but didn’t.

You can stare at your neighbor’s beautiful front-yard tree all day long, wishing you had planted one like that when you bought your house. Literally, you can sit and stare ALL day long.

Or—you can quit staring and plant a tree right now.

Stare or plant? Only one of those choices has a chance of adding any beauty to the world.

When you watch the Super Bowl today and find yourself impressed by the playmakers, don’t lose sight of the fact that they became playmakers because of the many hours they spent focusing on the plays they can still make—not the ones they didn’t.

Plant a tree today.

Maybe you can't make it to the Super Bowl, but you can still make the plays that will add much needed beauty to the world.