If life was a game we could return to start

You know how hindsight is 20-20? The kind of situation “if you knew then what you know now…?” For instance, if I had altered a few of my investments, I could’ve retired 4½ years sooner. Or, if I hadn’t spent the last 4½ months making unmindful nutrition choices, I’d be in a better place physically, mentally and emotionally—and my impending blood panel wouldn’t concern me. It seems I’m spending more time in that space where I wish I could go back to redeem a “pass go & collect $200” card. But, as I mention in “A brand new ending,” we cannot demand a do over. Consequently, the impetus that draws my mind (multiple times a day!) from the “if-then” mentality so I can win at life is this: I will never be that same person and I cannot recapture the past. Instead, I must view myself in light of the present in order to fashion a better future.

How do you win at the game of life?

Image courtesy of Keerati at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

If only, then …

[Image credit: David Castillo Dominici]

While writing a letter to a friend, I mentioned my fall and subsequent ankle sprain.  If only I would have kept my normal routine and gone to the gym in the morning, I wrote, then I wouldn’t have run after work and fallen off the curb.  Sometimes those if only, thens haunt me.  If only I’d get more sleep or make healthier food selections, then I’d be less fatigued.  If only I spent more time writing, then I’d be happier/fulfilled/more successful.  If only I lived closer to my loved ones, then the goodbyes would be easier because the time between visits would be shorter.  Although if only, thens are statements following a choice and its consequences, I wonder if the outcome might change if posed before, rather than after a decision.  For example, if only I possessed enough courage, then I would fill in the blank.  And once I identified with this 20-20 vision, maybe the if only, thens would become a means to an end rather than the hindsight which often follows.  In other words, there are no do overs, so getting it right the first time can save a lot of (heart)aches and pains in the long run.

Are you an if only, then kind of person, or do you live your life without looking back?