Often we are asked, "If you could change one thing about your past, what would it be"? There's a million possible answers to this question. Maybe you would like to go back in time and stop yourself from getting those bangs in middle school. Perhaps you wish you could try to save that relationship that ended too soon, or even just have some more fun. Whenever I was asked this I would come up with an answer similar to these, something comical or even monumental. What I have come to realize over the past few years is that my true response to this inquiry is "absolutely nothing".

There's so many opportunities for regret in our lifetime. It's up to you to decipher whether or not you're going to spend your time trying to change your past, or move on. Take it from someone who overthinks everything, this decision is easier said than done. It's so simple for someone who is not in your shoes to tell you, "don't live in the past" or "don't sweat it". If you're anything like me you lay in bed at night, thinking about all the little things you did wrong that day, like forgetting to say "thanks" back to the cashier at the grocery store or questioning every little text message, wondering if what you said was okay.

I know not everyone may go through this but if you're an apprehensive person, like me, you know the feeling. The point of bringing up being a worry-wart is because a large part of it is experiencing an overwhelming amount of regret.

This is the reason why I had to convince myself I needed to change the way I think. I was fed up with overanalyzing and wishing I could turn back the clocks to fix my mistakes. Quite frankly, it's emotionally exhausting. I quickly learned that this wasn't something I could change overnight. It was a literal part of me; something I had been doing everyday for years, and it was going to take a lot of mental training to get myself out of that habit.

Call me a walking cliché, but I'm now a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I'm not just talking about the big occurrences, but the little ones too. Whenever I begin to overthink it's knowing that there's an explantion behind everything, even if I don't know exactly what that might be, that can pull me out of that rut. Some may say it's just wishful thinking, but for me, this has saved my sanity. I wouldn't consider myself a particularly religious person so having something to have faith in is a very reassuring feeling.

I know this is just the beginning of a very long cognitive journey, but I'm ready for it. It's time I take control of my life and turn me, into a happier version of me.