Would You Do Over Your Life, If You Could?

Summary

The article reflects on the common desire to redo one's life, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and the courage to pursue a life aligned with one's true aspirations rather than societal expectations.

Abstract

The article "Would You Do Over Your Life, If You Could?" prompts readers to introspect about their life choices and satisfaction. It acknowledges that many people live a life dictated by others' expectations, leading to dissatisfaction and a yearning for a fresh start. The author suggests that while opportunities for change are abundant, fear, comfort zones, and a lack of self-esteem often hinder taking the necessary steps toward a more fulfilling life. The narrative encourages embracing one's potential, exploring one's inner self, and understanding that everyone has a unique purpose. The article concludes that asking oneself challenging questions can lead to discovering one's actual life purpose without necessarily rejecting one's past.

Opinions

Many individuals are living lives that do not align with their personal desires due to external pressures.
Despite having opportunities for change, people often remain in unsatisfying situations due to fear and a lack of self-belief.
It is crucial to believe in one's potential and to be true to oneself to lead a meaningful life.
Everyone has a unique purpose, and it is never too late to pursue it.
Asking oneself difficult questions is not a rejection of one's past but a tool for self-discovery and growth.
The comfort zone can be a significant barrier to personal development and should be challenged.
The idea of a different life can be both intriguing and torturous, depending on one's attachment to their current circumstances.
Curiosity about a different life can lead to dissatisfaction, making one ungrateful for their current life.
Honesty with oneself is essential in the process of transforming one's life.

Ask yourself this before reading the article!

A majority of us are unhappy about how our lives have turned out so far. And a lot of us are just going through the life that was decided for us. It is only after we grow up that we realize how unhappy we are and how unneeded this constant reminder is and so that is when we contemplate this fact: would we do over our lives if we were given a chance?

We pick majors after giving in to the pressure from our peers and parents. We say yes to the jobs that we believe are good enough for us but later find out that we are not enjoying even a single second of it. Yet also, we make no effort to get rid of it. Sure, we get a lot of opportunities but it’s hard to rationalize this especially when the feeling of mental restlessness and dreading takes over you.

The more we start to believe that the life we are living right now is the one we are meant to live and is also the one we chose for ourselves, the harder it becomes to get out of it.

You might be living the best life and are at the top of your career with a fairly decent salary and you appear to be happy and thankful for all the things that you have today yet there is still this feeling as if something is missing.

Because you are able to afford the things that you like and live a life far better than those around you, so you continue to convince yourself that nothing is wrong and shun that small voice inside of you that is constantly telling you that something better is waiting for you beyond the horizon. We let our fear dictate us, our lack of self-esteem continuously rejects our potential, we are hesitant to take the first step, and we fear the unknown and continue on the path that is known to us.

So if you had a chance to live your life again, knowing what you know now, would you choose to be the same or would you opt for something different, something new?

Have you ever answered yourself properly? Because if you did, you must have realized that the life you are living right now is not your ideal one.

And if you have realized this then you must already have figured out that you have to take action. You may have not been born with the life you wanted to lead, but you can definitely make efforts to turn it around before it’s too late.

A few years ago, I was utterly lost. Smothered by my parent’s expectations of me and had zero clue about what I wanted to do. But the good part was that I cared enough for myself to change my life. Once I was determined, I ask myself what I wanted to do over my life and instantly got the answer.

I did not want to do over my life rather I wanted to make the life, that I was living at that moment, the one that I aspired to live.

And there are a few interesting things that I discovered on this journey:

If I wanted to make things right, I needed to believe in my potential and fully give every aspect of my personality to the world.

If I wanted to lead a meaningful life, then it was imperative for me to explore my inner self and not keep any secrets.

Realize that everybody has a unique purpose.

Last but not the least, asking myself challenging questions does not mean that I am questioning the narrative that I have of myself. Rather, they sometimes help you find your actual purpose in life.

You don’t have to become a completely new person and try to erase everything from your past. Instead, you should be brave enough to accept your past self and look forward to the future one.

While the idea of starting fresh may sound exciting and very appealing to you but for some people, imagining a life that they haven’t lived can prove to be extremely torturous. And like I said, the reason behind this is that we have surrounded ourselves with our comfort bubble that we do not want to step out of. But believe me, our comfort zone is our biggest for and it can suppress us in unimaginable ways. Most of us are not as such haunted by the idea of a different personality and a different life that we might have had. But, perhaps for a moment or longer, our lives can still thrum with the fact that it could have been otherwise.

Bottom line is, sometimes we do want to do something for ourselves but other times we may only be drawn to the possibility, itself. The idea to turn your life around is so captivating that it gives birth to curiosity in us. We desire to live a different kind of life even if we are satisfied with the one that we are living, now. And do you know what it can do? It can make us ungrateful and unsatisfied. I am sure that you must have played with this thought process, and it is fun because it tells you a lot about yourself and what you really want.

That is if you’re willing, to be honest.