What would you do differently if you where 20 again?

I would eat a few less pies. I made a decision, around the age of 20, to put on some weight - because I was a bit skinny. Result; one fat bastard who has so far found it impossible to keep weight off.
The other thing I would not do is smoke so much dope (and party constantly) while I was in my 5th year at school. I managed to drop 25% in every subject between the prelims and my Highers. My planned career in medicine went out of the window and I ended up a bored engineer.

I can imagine a good Barry White talkover

"I WISH MY STUNNING COLLEAGUE KIRSTY WOULD HAVE EYES FOR ME NOW THAT SHE IS ALSO DIVORCED.

BUT HAVE BEEN TOLD MY LOVE IS UNREQUITED"

I have it on good authority that Kirsty only goes for guys who can work both caps lock keys and paragraphs.

Matthew

So now we know who Kirsty has eyes for, you're saying?

Hmm,

Mostly girls and music methinks but I have to say that I agree with those who say that, however good or bad, your experiences lead you somewhere good (hopefully) or at least to somewhere with insight.

Wish I'd never bought so many albums with one or two good tracks.

Wish I'd asked out several girls I didn't.

Wish I'd done a different degree course and pursued my interest in computers and music (putting that right now though).

Mostly... her name was Helen Taylor and we just messed it up big style between us. Met up with her again two years ago (after a twelve year gap) and we're building a really good friendship (albeit with very uncomfortable partners). Never expected we'd be able to even speak about that stuff but there you go... sometimes life just amazes you.

Mike

It's good to be older when you can talk about these things - after all, our partners have had their past encounters too. It would be a bit childish if we couldn't, I suppose.

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Originally posted by Laurie Saunders:

I you changed something in your past you would not be where you are now, and would likely want to change something ELSE about your past.....

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True, but even if you did want to change something else, you could still feel a lot happier about your new history and life than you would have done about your old one - although you might never realise that the decisions you made were better ones.

For me, the key here is not to change a past decision on the basis of its outcome but on the basis of the wisdom and insight you have gained since making that decision. I would want to change several major decisions at twenty (and more importantly younger) not simply because of their disastrous outcomes but because they no longer seem to be the most rational decisions, even when only the information that was available at the time is taken into account.

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As alluded to above, simply by being in a position that makes you a contributor to this Forum, means that you likely have all the benefits of being born and raised in an affluent society, and almost by definition, must be the beneficiary of some of life`s rarer benefits (when considered in the global context) that to complain about anything almost seems like ingratitude, and churlisheness...

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Hmmm... Counting one's blessings may be a good thing but I'm not sure that comparing our circumstances with those of the world's poor is necessarily the best way to do it. On my last trip to India (in 1986, at the age of 23) I was struck by how happy some of my relatives' ever-smiling servants were, despite their poverty and unenviable jobs. I was soooooooo envious...

[This message was edited by JeremyD on Fri 18 June 2004 at 17:21.]