The Best Advice I've Been Given

When you think of the words honesty, intuition and regret, what do you think of? According to the dictionary, they mean this:

Honesty: Truthfulness; sincerity; integrity

Intuition: The ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning

Regret: To feel sad, repentant, or disappointed over (something that has happened or been done, esp. a loss or missed opportunity)

I'm sure you're thinking that these words have nothing in common, but together they make up the best piece of advice I have ever been given: tell the truth, trust your gut, and regret nothing.

I remember when I was about ten years old my dad and I were having one of our life talks. He used to always give me advice and try to talk to me about important things, but at the end of the day I was just a kid and most of what he talked about was way over my head. But this conversation was different. At the end of the conversation he looked at me and said, "Juju, if there is only one thing that you ever take out of anything I ever tell you, it should be this: always tell the truth, trust your gut, and regret nothing." Since I was so young and innocent I didn't really understand what he meant to the full extent, but the older I got the more it began to apply to my life.

Tell the truth. Even if it is easier to lie, even if it is easier to twist it, even if you are afraid it will destroy everything around you. You always tell the truth, and you tell it loud.

Trust your gut. No one knows you better than you, and so if you have a certain feeling about something you should always trust that feeling and listen to your intuition. 99% of the time, that feeling in your gut is right.

Regret nothing. This is something that I find so hard to do. Everyone makes mistakes and screws up from time to time, but that's life and we are human. Take chances and make mistakes, but don't regret a single minute of it. It is better to have a life full of "oh wells" than "what ifs."

Lately I've really begun to think about my dad's piece of advice, and with every day I realize that, no matter the situation, those three phrases will always be the right answer.