There's a lot of talk about acceptance in self help and spiritual circles. Phrases like 'everything happens for a reason' and 'there are no mistakes' get tossed around. If you're highly enlightened you're supposed to be mindful and present and let go of the past. I often hear people say their mistakes led them to where they are now so they wouldn't change a thing. But you know what, I don't think I buy into all that.
I will concede that you often learn from your mistakes, but do I think I would leave ALL of the mistakes from my past untouched, if I had the chance for a "redo"? Nope. No I don't. Sometimes you just simply say or do the wrong thing, and who wouldn't want to take back those idiotic moments of their life? I will also concede that hindsight gives you the advantage of wisdom that you may not have had when you were smack dab in the middle of a decision. But, I also personally think that I knew I was making wrong choices at times, and did so out of convenience/stubbornness/choosing the path of least resistance.
Perhaps I'm saying all this because I don't feel I'm "there" yet, wherever that may be. And maybe those who say they wouldn't undo anything from the past feel they are "there", and it was the sum total of every choice they ever made that brought them to that happy place.
I'm not saying I'd like to rewrite my entire history, but if someone handed me the keys to a 1985 DeLorean equipped with a fully functioning flux capacitor, I wouldn't turn it down! There are many little things I wish I could un-say or un-do and there are also a few pivotal moments that I'd love to go back to and make a different choice to see how it affects the present. Kind of like a real life Choose Your Own Adventure (remember those books?!) or 13 Going on 30.
Well, if you've made it this far and you're still thinking, 'Nope, I wouldn't change a thing', then let me throw a little challenge your way. Watch this video and if you make it through the entire thing and don't want those 2 minutes and 40 seconds of your life back afterward, well then, YOU WIN my friend!
In all seriousness though, what you would do if given the gift of time travel? Use it or lose it?
I would not go back to correct mistakes, but maybe to give my life more time. Fun ketchup hack. :-) Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteKelly
www.alovelylifeindeed.com
I wrote a post similar to this about regret. There were a couple of major life choices that I made that I regretted and struggled with for a long time, but I've now matured and come to the realization that had I changed them, my life wouldn't be what it is today. If I hadn't gone to NYC, would Alex and I have survived as a couple? I don't know. I certainly wouldn't be blogging, I might not even be running. I don't know. So to me? Not worth it.
ReplyDeleteI would TOTALLY go back and redo... well... most everything. I know people say, "But my mistakes got me where I am today!" That's true. But I'm not all that thrilled with where I am today either, so that really wouldn't be all that bad!
ReplyDeleteI'd be too scared i would do something that made me not be with jeff, and therefore not have my kids. So i'd have to say i wouldn't make changes, at least not right now.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are a few things I would go back and change - especially some words I have spoken over the years. But generally, I don't think I would change the big things.
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