Every Halloween, we shine a flashlight on our fears—staring down the ghouls and the ghosts, the laughing witches, and the trending horrors of the year (even braving clips of Pennywise The Dancing Clown), and we trump our courage. We chase the adrenaline bursts, stepping through haunted houses, dressing up as nightmares, and pumping our chests in bravery. It’s all in good fun—a chance to confront the pretend and ignore the real terrors of the world because frankly, it’s easier that way. It’s easier to overlook the Big Scary with a capital “B.”
The real chilling terror on this (and every other) Halloween is not the illusionary shadow puppet on the wall or masked villain however—it is the cold reality of regret, and it’s coming for all of us.
What’s really scary is being at the end of the line and realizing: “that was that.” You could have sworn you had more time, but now the journey is over, and you never did what you wanted to do, never had the things you wanted to have, and never became the person you wanted to become.
Life is not a dress rehearsal, but you stayed in your seat with your palms patiently clasped in your lap, you waited for someone to sweep you away, and you let fear win. The dance is over—the formerly vibrant hall has been cleared, the band has packed up and left, and it’s time for you to go home. Suddenly, all those convincing excuses have melted away, and all you’re left to confront is you. Such are the terrors that keep one up at night.
That is your ghost story. That is the real Halloween nightmare, and it’s not going to retire at midnight tonight—it’s not going to end unless you do something about it today.
We are helpless to regret; we can’t undo what’s already been done, but we can determine what happens next.
It’s so easy to go through life keeping the routine, playing it safe, and letting others define us—living up to their expectations of what we might do or might become. It's easy to sit at the window looking out, waiting and dreaming of how far we’ll travel “tomorrow.”
At some point in life though, you will have to go for it—you will have to stand up and try for your dreams because the reality of what happens if you don’t is far worse than any kind of failure.
My dare for you this Halloween is to stop taking the poison. The plastic spiders, the cotton webs, and the jack-o-lanterns in your neighbor’s yard—these are your illusionary fears of failure, success, and rejection, and they’re blocking your path to the sweets at the door.
Power through. Keep going. Right now, regret is just the monster under the bed—it hasn’t come for you yet—and you can still fight it off. Remember, tomorrow’s regret is today’s empowerment, and if used properly, it can motivate you to accomplish extraordinary feats, turning today into something a whole lot more pleasant: tomorrow’s gratitude.