Letters to my old self

Every now and then you come across a piece of writing about the regrets people have in their life. About how family life was more important than money, but they chose to spend more time working. How experience triumphs buying things. And many more.

After reading a few of these, I stumble upon some common themes, which makes me wonder, how is it that so many people have this regret but also take that path?

I started observing my own life and realized there are different kinds of things that dictate decisions. One is situational, over which you have no control. You know you need to sacrifice something for the greater good of your life’s priorities.

The second are external triggers that are hard to ignore. We all get into this trap of doing something that will put you ahead in a hypothetical competition that only exists in people’s heads.

The third is fear. Sometimes you need to pivot, but you don’t because you are scared of diverging from a conventional path. And since it’s the present and not the past, your vision is not 20/20.

There are probably more reasons out there, but these three stood out the most for me.

When you reflect on your decisions in the future, you see the decision itself, but not all your emotions around it are retained. This inspired me to start writing letters to my old self and explain the situation and emotions behind a decision.

Hopefully, I will be lucky enough to live long enough to read these when I ponder about what motivated me to take that decision. Does this mean I won’t have any regrets then? I don’t think I can guarantee that, but at least I can have a conversation with my younger self.