Regret Has Taken More Lives Than Risk Ever Will

The Story

What if the real silent killer isn't fear of failure—but fear of regret?

Four years ago, lying in that hospital bed with Grade 4 Glioblastoma and seven months to live, I wasn't thinking about all the risks I'd taken that didn't work out. I was thinking about all the chances I never gave myself. All the dreams I'd put on hold. All the "somedays" that were about to become "never."

What if more people have been taken out by never beginning than by making the wrong move?

I've spent years talking to people who feel stuck, and here's what I've discovered: most don't fear the unknown. They fear the shame of trying and not getting it right. But that shame is an illusion. The real danger is waking up years from now and realizing you never even gave yourself a chance.

Regret doesn't announce itself with fanfare. It doesn't crash through your door demanding attention. It whispers. It convinces you to wait until you're ready, until the path is clear, until the timing is perfect. And while you wait, life moves on without you.

The Shift

Regret is a slow kind of death.

It doesn't shout—it whispers sweet lies about tomorrow being better than today for starting. It tells you that preparation is more important than participation. That planning is safer than playing.

But here's the truth that changed everything for me: most people don't die from their mistakes. They die from their hesitations.

When I was given seven months to live, I realized I'd been living like I had forever. Putting off the book I wanted to write. Delaying the speaking career I dreamed about. Waiting for the "right time" to really help people.

Cancer didn't care about my timeline. Life doesn't care about your comfort zone.

The H.O.P.E. Algorithm became my roadmap out of regret:

Hyper-Aware: Notice how often we choose hesitation over action

Open-Hearted: Forgive ourselves for all the waiting we've done

Persistent: Show up anyway, even when we're afraid

Empowering: Take the smallest next step, even without the whole path figured out

Hope isn't a passive wish—it's a strategy for choosing action over analysis paralysis.

The Uplift

The real tragedy isn't that you might fail. The real tragedy is that you might succeed beyond your wildest dreams, but you'll never know because you never tried.

Start now. Before the "someday" you're waiting for becomes the "too late" you regret.

Every day you wait for perfect conditions is another day stolen from the life you're meant to live. Every excuse you make for not beginning is another brick in the wall between you and your potential.

You think you're protecting yourself by waiting, but you're actually suffocating your dreams with good intentions.

Impossible isn't the enemy. Inaction is.

The version of you that's "out there" waiting—the one who's already figured it out, already helping people, already making a difference—they're not waiting for perfect timing. They're not waiting for fear to disappear. They're not waiting for regret-proof guarantees.

They're taking the chance. On themselves. For real. Right now.

Take the chance. On yourself. For real. Right now.

Because regret has taken more lives than risk ever will. And you're too important to become another casualty of "what if."

Impossible is optional, but time? Time is not.

Your starting line is at beyondhopeproject.com.

AUTHOR BIO: Jason Tharp is a keynote speaker, author, and brain cancer survivor known as "The Hope Guy." As founder of the Beyond Hope Project, he champions the overlooked by redefining possibilities through hope, community, and love. Learn more at jasontharp.com.