"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable."
-Sydney J. Harris
This is a better composed version of the best advice I've received in my life. I cannot remember where or when I heard this, or who I heard it from, which is somewhat ironic, but I have applied it to my life many times since. This quote means that it is okay for us to make mistakes in life because at least we know how things turned out, even if they were not the way we would have wanted. On the other hand, if you do not go ahead and do what you really want to do you will regret it more because you will never know what might have happened.
I went to Camp Hi-Rock for the first time when I was seven years old and hated it. The following three years I decided to not return. After that, I went back to camp for three consecutive summers and had a great time, and most recently this past summer. I found a sense of home and learned to love the place. I regret all those camp-free summers and wish that I had not been so scared to go to camp. I think about all the missed opportunities to make friends and memories. I have learned that it is better to take a try something new and risk the possibility of failure rather than playing it safe and potentially miss out on making special memories. I am happy that I did return to camp this year and plan to for many more summers.
I don't believe there has been a time in my life where I have regretted something I have done more than I have regretted something I have not done. The thing about regrets which are made from actions it that they heal over time and you can sometimes go back and laugh at them. The scary thing about regretting something you have never done is that you can look back on it and just wonder what things could have been like. We only have a certain amount of time in this world and it's important to take risks and do new things instead of "playing it safe" and sticking to our old habits. The inconsolability of regretting that which we do not do is the constant question of "what if?" which never seems to go away.
Ever since learning this valuable piece of advice, I have made a conscious effort to try as many new things as possible in order to escape "what if?" At the end of my life I don't want to look back on everything and wonder what my life would have been like if I had taken that chance or done that one thing that could have changed my own or someone else's life. The worst thing in this world is regretting what we haven't done.
-Sydney J. Harris
This is a better composed version of the best advice I've received in my life. I cannot remember where or when I heard this, or who I heard it from, which is somewhat ironic, but I have applied it to my life many times since. This quote means that it is okay for us to make mistakes in life because at least we know how things turned out, even if they were not the way we would have wanted. On the other hand, if you do not go ahead and do what you really want to do you will regret it more because you will never know what might have happened.
I went to Camp Hi-Rock for the first time when I was seven years old and hated it. The following three years I decided to not return. After that, I went back to camp for three consecutive summers and had a great time, and most recently this past summer. I found a sense of home and learned to love the place. I regret all those camp-free summers and wish that I had not been so scared to go to camp. I think about all the missed opportunities to make friends and memories. I have learned that it is better to take a try something new and risk the possibility of failure rather than playing it safe and potentially miss out on making special memories. I am happy that I did return to camp this year and plan to for many more summers.
I don't believe there has been a time in my life where I have regretted something I have done more than I have regretted something I have not done. The thing about regrets which are made from actions it that they heal over time and you can sometimes go back and laugh at them. The scary thing about regretting something you have never done is that you can look back on it and just wonder what things could have been like. We only have a certain amount of time in this world and it's important to take risks and do new things instead of "playing it safe" and sticking to our old habits. The inconsolability of regretting that which we do not do is the constant question of "what if?" which never seems to go away.
Ever since learning this valuable piece of advice, I have made a conscious effort to try as many new things as possible in order to escape "what if?" At the end of my life I don't want to look back on everything and wonder what my life would have been like if I had taken that chance or done that one thing that could have changed my own or someone else's life. The worst thing in this world is regretting what we haven't done.
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