'To Do' List Gets Shorter, Harder

Just asking this question makes me nervous. Of course, I torture myself with it all the time.
As a Greek, that's part of my DNA (Socrates: "the unexamined life is not worth living"). As an Orthodox Christian, it's part of my faith. Even the best of us, I know, are saddled with sin -- and pride is the mother of them all. Complacency is right up there too.

I'm also superstitious and don't like to tempt fate. So the short answer -- the only possible answer, really -- is no. There are a whole lot of things about my life I wish I could change, improve, alter or eradicate.

I wish I had more patience, less anxiety, deeper faith. I'd like to care less about what other people think and worry more about what other people need. I hate how much harder it is to stay in shape now that I'm solidly middle-aged -- and I'd be a better person if my blackberry broke down more often.

But I also know how lucky I am. Lucky to have found love after 40 -- with a wife who gets me, grounds me and has given us two little girls who make our family complete. Lucky to have work that engages me, rewards me and, on good days, makes a difference. Lucky to live in fascinating times -- in a country that, even on bad days, has a genius for liberty and regeneration.

Satisfied? Never. Grateful? Forever.

George Stephanopoulos is the Chief Washington Correspondent for ABC News and anchor of ABC's Sunday morning program, "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." He served in the Clinton administration as the senior adviser to the president for policy and strategy.

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On Faith is an interactive conversation on religion moderated by Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn of The Washington Post. It is produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com, as is PostGlobal, a conversation on international affairs. Please send your comments, questions and suggestions for On Faith to David Waters, its producer.