New leaves.
Have you ever wished that you could completely start over, from scratch? I get that itch all the time as I work through the challenges of working in a small business environment. It doesn’t help that I’ve got the entrepreneur bug, and badly!
But this doesn’t just apply to business – this applies to nearly everything in life that I do, even in the worst of times I think that being completely single and without children would be an incredible relief.
Naturally, I don’t ever want to lose or leave my family but haven’t there been times (especially as a parent of young children) where you’re completely wiped? Ah, such is life.
Thankfully, there are a few things that you can completely start over, some of which are easy and can be done today and others that require a lot more thought and preparation. The challenge, of course, is that the things we’d like to start with a “clean slate” are generally more difficult, right?
If you could start over fresh with one (or two?) things, what would it be? What would you differently? How would you react to that one situation, that one relationship, that one opportunity? What would you do and how would that change things today?
This isn’t about regret or guilt or shame (although you may feel some of those things); this is just an opportunity for you to actively take a look back and review what you’ve done and see if where you had intended to head is actually where you ended up.
These types of reviews are good for your health and your future.
Wait. Even successful entrepreneurs have these thoughts? What about those of us who haven’t been able to make the leap yet or create anything of significance yet?
I think everyone wishes for a do-over in certain aspects of life. I hate it when I hear people say, “I wouldn’t change anything…” Really? I think they are lying to themselves and have an inflated view of “self” that’s not healthy.
As far as a young family weighing you down… every study that’s been done shows that being married and having kids boosts productivity, focus, drive, etc… Family is a helpful/natural/needed pressure in life.
I agree Donnie, that when people say they “wouldn’t change anything,” they may not be intentionally lying; however, our society is constantly drilling into us, that we should be thankful for what we have, and to do the contrary is frowned upon; thus saying you would “change something,” is, in essence, saying you aren’t thankful for what you have. Now, let me be clear, I am VERY thankful for everything I have, but that doesn’t negate the fact that there are quite a few things that I would have done differently in the past. One would have been sitting out my Senior year of college when they messed up my financial aid. That one year alone caused significant student loan debt, that otherwise I wouldn’t have had; given that at that point, I had grants, scholarships, and work study that pretty much paid for everything. In my quest to graduate (somewhat) on time, I just opted to do all loans so I could be done with it, but looking back, I would have sat out that year. Would that have been the right thing to do? Who knows, but I feel like I would be in a much better financial situation had I not done that. I have a friends mother who says, “We are exactly where we are supposed to be.” For the most part, I agree with her. With all that being said, I loved my University and overall college experiences, and I am glad I graduated from USC. Fight on!
I’m right there with you, especially recently. I’ve been seriously considering starting fresh in certain aspects of my personal life and it’s a whole lot harder than you’d think. No matter what, you can’t erase history, so I’m not sure you can truly start fresh anyway.
Great post. I will think about that!