I have had many experiences throughout my life that I wish I could relive over and over again. I have also had many moments that I can’t help but think about how different they could have been.
Everyone can relate to having regrets in life, but how often do you spend wondering what would have happened if you made one different choice? I used to spend valuable time wishing I hadn’t gone on that one trip or ignored that one phone call.
These thoughts would eat me up inside.
I became obsessed with thinking about all of the wrong choices I made in moments of time. I kept thinking about the different outcomes that ‘could have’ come about with my different choices. I had this idea that whatever negative connotation I had with a memory would somehow disappear if I could just envision the outcome I wanted.
You can't change the past.
Everyone knows this yet, why is it so hard to stop playing it differently in your mind? For me, I was living through regrets in life that I thought would have turned out better if I had changed a few details. However wrong I thought those moments turned out, the fact is they DID turn out.
Going back and changing the events of your life would not only be interfering with God’s plan but, you don’t know how it would turn out.
The truth of the matter is that whatever details you wish you had changed don’t guarantee the outcomes you desire. If you had not answered that one call, or not met that one person, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you wouldn’t be in the exact spot in your life as you currently are.
I have always been a firm believer in the notion that everything truly happens for a reason. There is a reason you went on that trip or ignored that one phone call. It is hard to accept at times but, you are exactly where you are supposed to be right now.
It is also true that if there was some possible way you could change the past, how much would it really change your life right now, or how much would you want it to change?
I think people who become complacent or unhappy with their current lives decide to look back on their past regrets to think, “if I had just done this or that…” If you catch yourself starting to wander back into those time changing thoughts, I think it is time to ask yourself what about your life would you want to change right now and how can you in the future.
The future is the only thing you can change. Wanting a change in life is fine, it’s even necessary to grow as a person however, nothing will be changed by wishing you had done something else. It is time to start recognizing where you want to be in life and what steps you need to take to get there.
The past will never change but, the future is yours.
