If you could relive your life .....

@GreenMoo (11833)
February 14, 2012 2:22am CST
If you could relive your life to date, what would you change? Is there something that you've done, or not done, that has changed the course of your life which you would alter with the benefit of hindsight? There's not very much I'd change, to be honest, as I think that everything that has happened to me over the years has made me the person I am today. But I would certainly not fritter away so much of my money in the early years when I had a well paying job! When I think of what I could do with that money, which disappeared on coffee shop coffee, new clothes, flashy cars, nothing special, it makes me feel quite faint! There are also occasions where I would revisit my behaviour to ensure that I wasn't hurting the ones I love. I don't think I'd change the actions themselves, just the way I expressed myself. How about you?
6 people like this
20 responses
• Philippines
14 Feb 12
If I could relive my life again, I still love myself but what I want to change on how I express my self to others. I am so introvert. I try to keep what's on my mind and what's my feelings. I want to be someone who could deeply express my gratitude.
2 people like this
@GreenMoo (11833)
14 Feb 12
Perhaps that is something that you could work on each day, rather than having to go back and relive life again? I'm not particularly introverted, but I do sometimes have a challenge expressing my feelings.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (47670)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
14 Feb 12
I don't know... maybe I wouldn't have got married. Or maybe I'd go back to grade 7 and go to the school behind my home rather than the one a few miles away that offered an "enrichment" program. That's about as far back as I could go to change things, if it changed anything at all, that is.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (47670)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
20 Feb 12
Well, I only went to that school for one term, then my family moved an hour's drive away. So things changed anyway. But some prehistoric cortex of my brain thinks maybe we wouldn't have if I'd only gone to A.A. Martin instead of Queen E.
@GreenMoo (11833)
20 Feb 12
Wow! Major changes, either of which would really have the power to completely change the course of your life beyond. Different friends, different partner perhaps, totally different direction.
1 person likes this
• Australia
17 Mar 12
There are a number of things in my life which have radically altered my path, almost all of them negatively. I often wonder whether, had I avoided any one of them if that might have changed my life enough that the later mistakes no longer offered themselves. But then, probably other mistakes just as negative may have offered. But that's what life's about, n'est ce pas? Lash
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
Mistakes, or opportunities to tread a different path? I think it's all the in the spin we put on things. It doesn't make any difference of course, but it's an interesting exercise.
@GreenMoo (11833)
18 Mar 12
It's hard to argue with that! But perhaps the experience made you the person you are today?
• Australia
17 Mar 12
If you end up in a cell it's a mistake, not an opportunity lol. Lash
@inertia4 (27960)
• United States
16 Feb 12
Nice question. I would change a whole lot. Believe me. For starters, I would not have married the woman I wound up marrying. Knowing what I know now it is easy for me to make that change. But I would have pursued the woman I always wanted to be with at that time. I am with that woman now, but at the time, we both wanted to be together but could not. She was with someone else. And after she broke up with him, I never saw again, that is until many years later. So in the meantime I got married. Big mistake. So, that is basically the one thing I would change without a doubt.
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
I'm so happy that you and your partner found each other again after all those years.
1 person likes this
@inertia4 (27960)
• United States
25 Mar 12
I am also. I now am happy in that department. But I still have to keep in touch with the evil ex because of the kids.
• China
15 Feb 12
I haven't thought it,because what is done cann't be undone.Even though,I have something that I bitterly repent,"It is no use crying over spilt milk".A wrong decision is often made in a moment of weakness.For me, the best way is taking things as they are.
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
I agree with you. Regret will change nothing. Learning from our mistakes is the way to grow.
• China
18 Mar 12
Yes!over here,there is an old saying ,"A fall into the pit,a gain in your wit."
@riempie9 (1021)
• South Africa
5 May 12
Hindsight of course is twenty, twenty, but if I could relive my life I would change or learn how to deal with my anxiety which was not properly handled. I would not marry at the young age of 23. I would go to college and earn my degree. Of course I don't mind that I'm a writer as I have written and published ten books. I would give more to the poor. I would not let a dentist pull out some of my teeth. I would not marry an immigrant in a foreign country. I would have four children instead of two. I would take piano lessons. I would take better care of my health.
@GreenMoo (11833)
7 May 12
Some massive changes, some minor by comparison.
@KrauseHome (36447)
• United States
17 Feb 12
Personally there are some things I wish I could change like my Mom staying married to my real dad, but overall I think things in my life have happened for a reason and even if there have been things I could have been more in control of, and helped prevent or Stop, I would not be who I am today without them. Yes, it would be nicer to be Healthier, or richer, but if I was these, I might not be as Happy as well.
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
A great answer KrauseHome. Happiness is worth so much more than anything else.
• United States
15 Feb 12
i would choose certain moments i would change. to be in one place instead of another place. paid more attention to my grandmother and get to know my other grandparents. definitly, go to college, get a degree. little things. other than that, i love my babies.
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
Going to college would be a major change. You'd miss out on may other experiences. Maybe as a result you'd never have met your partner and had different children. it's a weird chain of thought! That's why I'm quite happy with the life i have!
@bing28 (3795)
• Philippines
15 Feb 12
I should have not leave my job and preferred sales. I only realized now that there's no security of tenure in sales. Big income comes but no savings for the future as you have to save for yourself. While if you were employed regularly there are deductions from your salaries that would benefit you in your retirement. There are funds allocated to you for your emergency or family needs. There are benefits where not found on sales. One thing more I should have finished my education course and not shifted to Business Administration. Teaching is a nearly lifetime job. I should have save for my grandchildren so I would have something for them.
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
these are things that we can see when we look back. Is there still not the opportunity for you to change path?
@bounce58 (17385)
• Canada
17 Feb 12
Today was a rough day at work. It made me want to revisit the day I decided to come back to this work which I already left five years ago. I'm not in that stage yet. I still can't say that all of my experiences and decisions in life makes me appreciate the person that I am now. Maybe in a few more years though.
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
There are some say that you should never go back once you've left somewhere. I don't personally agree, but it must be hard not to agree when you have a bad day.
@kukai127 (67)
• Philippines
18 Feb 12
I agree with you. I wouldn't change anything that has happened in my life. The bumps and bruises I had earned thus far has taught and molded me to who I am. A strong woman. I may be an introvert but little by little each day, I am starting to open up with others that I know will not fail me, not judge me because of my failures but encourage me to become a better person. I am content with the life I have now and I would never change a thing.
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
You sound very happy Kukai, and I salute your outlook.
20 Feb 12
i think if i could change anything, it would be that i got the help i needed for depression quicker than i did. i have a disorder which causes me to act erratically and sometimes uncontrollably when i get angry or upset.. and it often affects my moods and causes them to go up and down quite oftem.. and i didnt get help for years. i think id change that.
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
I think if I were in your shoes I would wish for the same. I appreciate that having a diagnosis does not change the disorder, but it must allow you to understand your behaviour and allow others to do the same.
@deodavid (4150)
• Philippines
15 Feb 12
Hi there greenmoo, For me i think id change a lot of stuff, id study better, be more active, avoid unhealthy stuff be more loving towards my parents and i guess earn early on in life but i wouldn't change the kind of person that i am just tweaks and financial matters i love who i am i just wanna be more healthier and financially stable. nice topic!
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
I think those are things which most of us would agree on.
@Vvance (280)
• United States
18 Mar 12
The answers of people can change due to their present situation. If someone has recently suffered from the loss of a loved one, they would change their life to spend more time with the said loved one. If I had a chance to relive my life, I'd like to keep my current friends as well as get new and equally interesting ones! Most people who have made a big decision in their life and it has badly affected their whole future may want to change that decision and look forward to a long enjoyable life and they may learn a lesson and not repeat such mistakes again! If it did happen, I'm pretty sure every single person would make use of it well and enjoy the results! :)
@GreenMoo (11833)
18 Mar 12
The loss of a loved one is a perfect example of you don't appreciate what you've got until it's gone.
@GardenGerty (160949)
• United States
14 Feb 12
I would have done a bachelors degree, instead of just an associate degree. I would have worked before I had my kids. Like you, I probably would have spent my money more wisely when I was younger.
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
It's fun imagining the difference, but a bit sad too don't you think?
@mac1946 (1602)
• Calgary, Alberta
14 Feb 12
You are asking if I could go back in time,knowing what I know today,would I be willing to change my life? Most defenatly,but probably for a much different reason than most here. I have suffered from sever clinical depression all my life,but up untill only about 15 years ago,I did not know it. As I look back,I can see so many ways I could have improved myself and my family if I had been able to understand what I was doing back then. At my age now(65),the only way to correct my life would be to start all over from the beginning,knowing what I have missed. Thank you for a great discussion to let me vent. mac
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
hindsight is a wonderful thing, and allows us to see the driving forces behind our actions. I'm glad you have now been diagnosed, and can understand why you feel the way that you do.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
14 Feb 12
THe only thing I would have done differently is to finish my college education....that would have changed the whole course of my life.....but I am very happy with what I have now.....but and education would have made my life a lot easier.
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
Finishing the college education would only have made a difference if you had used it of course. i don't think I've ever used my degree, so apart from a sense of personal satisfaction, it was a lot of time spent studying which could have been utilised elsewhere.
@nyang1984 (464)
• Philippines
14 Feb 12
just like you GreenMoo i don't have to change my life... i wan't it to be just the same...cuz i don't think i would be this strong if it's not because of my experiences. :)
@GreenMoo (11833)
14 Feb 12
There's little things I'd change, but they are things which the benefit of experience tells me would have made my life easier in the long term. Nothing major.
@hunibani (720)
• Philippines
14 Feb 12
If I could........ I'm gonna show how much I love my papa very much. :[
@GreenMoo (11833)
14 Feb 12
I'm sure he knew that hunibani.
@luisaR (452)
• Philippines
15 Feb 12
I would like to change almost everything except for three people. my grandma, my John and my son. I still want them to be part. I have been trying to get things better since early teen age but I just can't get the places in order. It is not cool when life started as a mess already.
@GreenMoo (11833)
17 Mar 12
If you changed other things further back, perhaps you would never have met John or had your son.