If You Could Turn Back Time, What Would You Do Differently?

[~baby~doll~]

I would have better recollection of the 80's and would not have hurt those I love with all my heart.

[sierragirrl]

if i could go back 10 yrs i would.i have learned so many lessons the hard way.sometimes they sink into my noggin sometimes i have to be hit over the head with them..
i would of spent more time with my mother, more loving time with my mother although she smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish i am so glad my oldest doesn't not remember her grandmother that way.
i would have not listened to the family friend that said go look at your mother after she has passed away she will look so peaceful.. yup not so much
i would of managed my money better, left it all in investments had a full time job to live off of instead..although having the money did afford me to stay home and raise my youngest and i was able to make a lot of great memories with my kids and their great grandmother..
i wish i had been raised with better family values, better eating habits.

if i was able to turn the clock back 5 yrs i would do things different. i would of taken it slower, if the fires of 08 didn't happen i would of not needed to be "saved". i would of gotten therapy long before i did i would of not falling into the dark deep hole that consumes me to this day. i isolate myself big time i push people away i crawl inside myself wish people would of just been a little more understanding bi polar sucks and i am bettering myself daily, am i 100%? nope..is anyone ever 100%? i read a really great book on bi polar called the unquiet mind if you love someone who has bi polar plz read this.

if i could turn back time 3 yrs ago to the reunion i would of come way out of my shell and met all you fine folks that were there but i did not i kept myself tucked away.
if i could turn back the clock 2 yrs ago i would..i would change ever having to wear orange and been forced to drink sweet tea <blech> although it was something i will never forget.you being so worried bout me over in my pod me worried about you,seeing you first thing in the morning at med time, me not knowing what was going on..thank goodness all the girls were awesome..

if i could turn the clock back a yr i would do so i would communicate more,loved harder,fought harder,thought before i spoke, and believed more. i would of worked instead of being on call whenever you wanted me to be..i think money comes between people, sickness,rage, addiction comes between people, distance does as well..i wish my ex would of moved over here, to have someone you love close to you, so you can have dinner together, run errands together, to go to the city together spend sometime together.. the every day companionship is what i want..i NEED someone who will be there no matter what cause my ass falls a lot.i can honestly say i have never cheated on anyone i was in a relationship with.
now would i take anything back? sure lots of it. i have gotten to experience a lot of great things,people and places in the past 5 yrs.

i am lucky enough to have had 3 true loves in my lifetime,2 continue to be rocks in my life no matter what i know i can count on them.

all of these lessons make me who i am, i am learning that shit happens for a reason. what doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?

[Cid]

If I could turn back time, so many things I would change. From childhood to adult.
But I can't so I won't even start to think about it.

[Bèsame*]

I only wish the Lesson of " I can not change anyone, I can only change myself. I am not the fixer", would have presented its self sooner in my life.

[thedivahrrrself]

There are very few major things I would have done differently. I might have talked a little less and listened a little more, definitely. But I don't regret the people I have loved - they helped to shape who I am. And the people I have lost - mostly, they knew how much they meant to me. Yes, I stick my foot in my mouth a lot, but those who love me tend to forgive me.

I think the thing I would have done most differently is stop looking to someone else to guide me and start looking for more answers from within. It opened the door for a lot of people to manipulate me, and I still fall into those habits from time to time. I would have spent less time exploring the submissive side of myself and started exploring the power I have within instead. Rather than looking for someone to control me, perhaps I should have learned to control myself.

If I could turn back time, I would have a harsh talk with myself about my own self-worth. I would tell the younger me that I am fully deserving of all good things, and I would refuse to accept the way I allowed a lot of people treat me over the course of my lifetime, particularly when I was very young.

The last few years have been pretty phenomenal - they have forced me to grow and learn a lot about myself, some of it I needed, but didn't want, to know. I have actively made sure the people in my life, be they friend or lover (or some mix of both), were good people, to the core of their being. These people will never know the value of their companionship - they collectively have helped me to feel worthwhile for the first time in my life. With their help, I will not repeat the mistakes of my past. I will spend the next 30 years making up for the last 30, and I'll be good to myself.



But after all that, I thought of one decision I would totally take back.... I would have never bought that Chevy Aveo!

[girl_dee]

i would have not made major financial decisions after Katrina.

[Cid]

As I'm reading these posts, one thing seems to stand out for me. I would have given myself more credit and more self worth.
I think that was the one thing that really controls much of it, was that I didn't give myself enough worth. I would have gone to school and done better for myself. If I had given myself the strength within, I wouldn't have taken the abuse that I did. I would have kicked the asshole to the ground.

I would have to say that changing my eating habits would have been a good choice and my spending habits too.

But I think the one biggest thing that I would change in the past is that I would have listened to my kids more. It's not that I didn't appreciate them, but that being a single mom (my exhusband and I worked opposite shifts) made it difficult to get the rest that I needed to give that energy. I should have gotten them out and exercising. It would have made for a better emotional connection between my kids and my connection with them.
And I would have done far more family trips. Even small trips count.