No regrets

Recently I have been thinking about the choices I have made (or not) in my life up until now and the main theme that keeps occurring is the wish to have seized the day and taken more risks. I long to travel back in time and tell my 18 year old self what happens when you are apathetic to your future and that you should trust in your instincts. More importantly, I would tell my younger self to have confidence in my convictions and there is nothing wrong with failure. We should not be burdened with the anxiety of ‘what ifs’ but inspired by the thoughts of ‘why not?’

Remember when you were very young and the world seemed such an enormous place with endless possibilities and opportunities? Why does that reality change with age? Because we believe it to be so; we believe that they are just silly fantasies not fit for a ‘grown-up’ world. It strikes me of someone who is bitter and because things did not quite turn out the way they wanted; they dampen everyone else’s daydreams and we become envious of people who do live out their dreams, instead of happy for their success.

Being so negative and fatalistic is quite frankly boring and draining. I would encourage my younger self to be positive and not fully embrace the British culture of cynicism – it may be vogue but it is not healthy. Self-prophesising pessimism may make you right but it does not make you happy.

I would hope by coaching myself (and not freaking me out with my time travelling abilities) would give me the benefit of hindsight and help me carve a more fulfilling path. Yes, I have learnt a lot in those years but it would be have been a lot easier if I was not shrouded in self-doubt and little self-worth. I would add that life has not been all bad and there are certainly wrong paths I have taken which have lead me to the right people. There is no way for accounting or preparing for every eventuality, so do not try to - what a freeing thought! 

My lasting thought would be this: 

Only regret the things you have not done rather than the things you have done: you cannot make up for lost time but you can always apologise! (Not a mantra for the criminally-minded though). 

I hope I have inspired you all to think about your dreams and passions, even for five minutes.

Carpe diem!