Hey,
I know you would have thought about this at least once. What if you get to reset everything and start afresh? Well, it is tempting, but what would you have done differently? Would you have been more cautious, more understanding, less judgemental, more practical, or more impulsive? Well, the what-if scenarios never end. Everytime I get posed with an inconvenience, I wonder if I would get a chance to change everything, things that I think went wrong in the past.
We are generally very hard on ourselves, at least I am. We can be our worst critics, but we often take a step back to give ourselves credit where it’s due. I have seen people who themselves are their biggest cheerleaders, and I wonder whether things are easy for them. Well, we never know. Sometimes, we should cut ourselves some slack even while being the worst critic. Maybe it’s not the past that we need to change but ourselves.
All those things that you think you might do differently now, what age were you then? What did you even know about the world? If you think about it, it is those things that made you the person you are today. I am not asking you to sweep your past actions under the rug. The very fact that you are retrospecting them and that it helps you introspect your thoughts now is the biggest takeaway.
I know all this would not make sense when you are having a bad day and are holding yourself responsible for your actions. But give yourself some time. When your mind is clear of all the self-criticism, self-loathing, and judgments, think about ways to rectify them. Look for ways to shed that baggage, move forward, and help yourself. One should be responsible and accountable towards oneself but do not forget you are human too.
Not even for a second should you think that it is just you. I was in pursuit of this reset button for a long time, and sometimes I still am. But deep down, we do know that it doesn’t exist. It is a matter of accepting it and finding the strength to face things the way they are. I know how easy it is to preach these things, but if only you can exercise them at least once, it will bring you hope. As everyone says, nothing is constant, and things will keep changing. When you get the opportunity to change and do things differently, grab that chance. I believe it is your past that makes you the person you are today, and it is your present that makes you who you will be in the future. Let’s not lose out on a better tomorrow by holding onto the past, for there is no reset button, only a future yet to be built.
Supportive & understanding,
A work-in-progress self
coffee table 