Our Top Ten Regrets

March 11, 2012
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

The Daily Mail has recently published the results of a survey that says people spend around 44 minutes every week on regretting our past.

We wish we’d saved more money, traveled more, stayed in touch with friends and that we’d never started smoking. (I’m thankful that smoking is something I’ll never have to regret. Having a father who was a heavy smoker was enough to convince me to never even try lighting up.)

I guess that among the regrets that people identified, there are some things that we can change for our future and others that we need to leave behind so we can move on. Regrets can paralyze us and keep us living in the past yet if we live without some sense of regret we won’t learn the life lessons that arise and we’re destined to keep repeating the same mistakes.

The Top Ten

The top ten regrets were:

1. Not having saved more money
2. Not having worked harder at school
3. Not having exercised more
4. Not seeing more of the world
5. Taking up smoking
6. Not staying in touch with people more
7. Not having taken more care of our bodies when younger
8. Not having appreciated an elderly relative more before he or she passed away
9. Not having taken more photos of experiences growing up
10. Getting married too early.

When I look at that list I can give a nod to a few but I won’t let them keep me wishing for what might have been. We all make mistakes but we need to acknowledge those mistakes, take appropriate action, then move forward. Sometimes we need to forgive others and other times we need to accept the forgiveness that we’ve been offered.

Can you identify with any of the regrets listed or do you have regrets of your own? Do you spend a lot of time thinking of how differently life could have been or are you using past mistakes to learn and move on? Are there some regrets that just won’t let you move on?



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Getting Australia on Bikes

June 3, 2011
by Rodney Olsen
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Rain, hail or shine, I’m on my bike. Well maybe not hail but you get what I mean.

As I cycle down the dual use path beside the freeway, whizzing past slow moving columns of cars, I wonder why more people don’t make the switch to cycling. I know that if they did, they’d be healthier, happier, have more energy and wouldn’t have to sit in stop go traffic every day.

A national survey conducted by the Cycling Promotion Fund and the National Heart Foundation of Australia has found more than 62% of Australians want to ride a bike for transport, but their safety fears are keeping them in their cars and their bikes in the shed.

The data, released this week, found that while more than 60% of Australians have access to a bike, almost 70% were not considering cycling for transport in the near future.

Six time Tour de France competitor and Atlanta Olympian, Stephen Hodge, is the spokesperson for the Cycling Promotion Fund and he joined me on 98.5 Sonshine FM this morning to discuss the survey and what can be done to increase the number of people choosing two wheels over four. You can hear the interview by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

Around 60% of respondents stated they own or have access to a bike.

Two in five respondents that owned or had access to a bike had ridden a bike in the past month. Of these, 60% had ridden a bike for transport purposes.

The majority of respondents that had ridden a bike did so for either running errands/going to the shops or for leisure and recreational activities. More than 60% of respondents had both cycled for running errands/going to the shops and for leisure and recreational
activities.

The majority of respondents cycle due to the health and exercise benefits obtained from cycling. Respondents were also likely to be influenced by the economic benefits of cycling, as well as the environmental advantages.

A common theme for not cycling more often was due to road traffic conditions or safety. Respondents were likely to rate unsafe road condition, speed/volume of traffic, lack of bicycle lanes or safety as key reasons for not cycling often. Issues such as lack of time or
motivation were not significant factors in holding back cyclists.

Those that ride a bike for transport, typically ride on quiet roads and alone.

Almost 90% of those that ride a bike for transport felt their general health had improved since starting to ride for transport.

So, what’s stopping you from cycling? Would you get on a bike more often if conditions were right?

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MOR060311_1032.mp3]

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What do we believe?

April 8, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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crownofthorns.jpgA survey has just been released which outlines what Australians believe about Jesus. The results show that a surprising number of those who don’t claim to follow the Christian faith still believe the Easter story, including the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The independent survey of 2500 people found that out of the 85 per cent who did not identify themselves as born again, including people of other religions, 45 per cent believed in the resurrection of Jesus.

Noted author and church historian Dr John Dickson, the co-director of the Centre for Public Christianity in Sydney, said the number who believed in the resurrection included agnostics and secularists because the total percentage was far higher than the remaining Christians surveyed.

We are staggered. We thought the survey would show the profound scepticism of Australians. Instead, it shows there is a base-level assumption among the Australian public that accepts the Jesus story even if it has no relevance to their lives.

Dr Dickson said the survey wanted to explore the understanding of non-churchgoers, so the results were produced from those who were non-religious, or from another religion, or who loosely identified with Christianity.

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

Today we discussed the survey and what it means for spirituality in Australia. Can I encourage you to click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post to listen to our conversation?

The survey also found that 57 per cent of those who wouldn’t consider themselves as born-again knew that Easter is connected with the death of Jesus but a much higher 87 per cent know that it concerns the resurrection. To clarify exactly what it’s all about, Ross and I also talked about the basic details of the Easter story and what it means for us.



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All I need is a miracle

July 2, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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If we’re to believe the hype, we live in an increasingly secular society that is losing its religion. Atheism is on the rise and less and less people have a belief in God. But is that really what’s going on?

From the Washington Post comes an article titled Most Americans Believe in Higher Power, Poll Finds.

It’s a fascinating look at the beliefs of Americans. I would guess that an Australian survey would yield similar results.

The poll took its results from interviews with 36 000 adults. While it shows that around 80% of people believe in miracles the percentage was even higher for those believing in God.

The study detailed Americans’ deep and broad religiosity, finding that 92 per cent believes in God or a universal spirit — including one in five of those who call themselves atheists. More than half of Americans polled pray at least once a day.

It’s interesting that 20% of people who claim some kind of belief in God or some kind of universal spirit call themselves atheists. I’m assuming that they aren’t rejecting the idea of God, rather they’re rejecting society’s understanding of who God is. This highlights the fact that the belief in God quoted in the survey isn’t necessarily a belief in the God of the Bible.

A belief in God or a higher spirit is pervasive. Even Americans who describe themselves as atheist or agnostic have a robust sense of a higher power: Twenty-one percent of those who describe themselves as atheists expressed a belief in God or a universal spirit, and more than half of those who call themselves agnostic expressed a similar conviction.

Smith said some people may identify with the term atheist or agnostic without fully understanding the definition, or they have a negative view of organized religion, even though they believe in God.

Many of the people surveyed believed in the power of prayer with many claiming to have experienced its power.

“I can’t remember any prayer that I have prayed that has not been answered,” said Helen Catchings, 62, of Vienna. God cured her of stuttering and gave her the resources for her home-care business, she said. And she said she has seen members of her church cured of cancer, brain tumours and other illnesses through prayer, baffling doctors. “I give Him all the credit,” Catchings said.

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

Today we discussed the survey and its implications. We also took a look at whether it really matters who we believe God to be. Is it good enough to believe in the God of our own understanding? Does it make a difference which path we take to God? You can listen to what Ross had to say by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.



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Blog Readers Survey

April 24, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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I’ve had a request from Bo who is conducting an email-based survey that aims to look at the relationship between blog readers and bloggers. It’s for her Honours Thesis.

The survey will focus on those who read blogs but don’t write a blog of their own. The survey is being done as part of Bo’s studies at the University of Queensland. She’s an Honours student in Communication and Cultural Studies.

I asked Bo for some verification that the survey is legitimate and she promptly provided everything I needed to be sure that this survey is for real. Your privacy will be respected.

So how about it? Have you got a bit of time to help out a student? Go on … give it a go.

Below are the details Bo provided. Just click on the email link and let her know that you’re interested.

Do you have a favourite blogger that you want to talk about?

I am an Honours student from the University of Queensland, Australia and I am conducting an email-based survey that looks at the experiences that blog readers have with their favourite bloggers.

To take part in this research you cannot be a blogger yourself and you cannot know the blogger offline.

Please note that for ethical and legal issues you MUST be 18+ years of age and an Australian Citizen to partake in this research

If this sounds like you and you would like to participate in this original and exciting research project then please email me.

All inquiries are very much appreciated!



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