The things that we would regret on our deathbed are not the things that we care about day to day. There is a well-trodden concept of immediate versus long-term pleasure. We realise there are things we could achieve but they necessitate a lot of pain, a lot of sacrifice. Then there are the low hanging fruits of life, things that give us enjoyment in the moment but are quite base and transient, certainly not the stuff of legacy and meaning.
For the defence of the day, I agree that we should celebrate each, or almost each, small victory we make every day for journeys are not made in one big leap, but many tiny steps, not necessarily on the same path, because we don't always know we are going in the "right" direction. On the other hand, I do think we should have a long-term goal in mind which helps determine whether we are going in the "right" direction. The reason I put the word right in quotes is because it is relative to where we are going. Otherwise we may end up making a thousand victories every day and still not having any "big" victory because we took a thousand steps in a thousand paths that may not all lead in the same direction. Same contrast you see between being a generalist and a specialist or being a jack of all trades and master of none.
For the defence of the day, I agree that we should celebrate each, or almost each, small victory we make every day for journeys are not made in one big leap, but many tiny steps, not necessarily on the same path, because we don't always know we are going in the "right" direction. On the other hand, I do think we should have a long-term goal in mind which helps determine whether we are going in the "right" direction. The reason I put the word right in quotes is because it is relative to where we are going. Otherwise we may end up making a thousand victories every day and still not having any "big" victory because we took a thousand steps in a thousand paths that may not all lead in the same direction. Same contrast you see between being a generalist and a specialist or being a jack of all trades and master of none.