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.

Wiping the slate clean

In the game of life, we don’t get a second chance.  We’re born with X number of allotted years and when they run out, we’re done.  No extra spins.  But while we’re making our moves and setting the course for our future — attending college or jumping right into a career, getting married, having kids, buying our dream home, playing the stock market — we’re sometimes afforded one of those rare opportunities or two for a “do over”— to spin one more time.  For me, after more than two decades since my high school graduation and working in one career, I returned to college and completed my Bachelor’s degree, and  now I’m employed in a field I’m passionate about.  And after 18 years of mediocre motherhood, I was given the chance to parent an adult child and the dynamics that come with it.  Perhaps more importantly, if we’ve been hurt or wronged someone along the way, we may be fortunate enough to collectively wipe the board game clean, put the past behind and start over.  But it requires laying it all on the line — spinning the dial to see if you lose it all, or you’re the big winner in the end.  Only you can decide if it’s worth the risk.

Is there a “do over” you’re hoping for?