I just finished reading the book, Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom.
One part resonates particularly with me:
"…but if aging were so valuable, why do people always say, “Oh, if I were young again.” You never hear people say, “I wish I were sixty-five.”
(Morrie) smiled. “You know what that reflects? Unsatisfied lives. Unfulfilled lives. Lives that haven’t found meaning. Because if you’ve found meaning in your life, you don’t want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more. You can’t wait until sixty-five."
The desire to go back in time, fix our regrets, restart and re-live life pops into our head from time to time.
Recently it’s a nostalgia expressed in the form of a dream, of younger days when pain and sadness in life was distant.
I woke up feeling peaceful to be able to go through that again but at the same time, this sense of longing that just doesn’t go away.
The intensity of this desire to be young again and restart all over is an indication of desperation,
and of how limited your options are at hand.
To interpret what Morrie said in a simple economic term,
it’s like opportunity cost –
What is of more value at this current situation:
What you have established to-date?
The person you are in a relationship with?
The recognition you are receiving?
Or the possibility of the alternative?
Put aside the anxiety, frustration and disappointment, let’s only look at the situation in a more logical, straight forward point of view –
If the alternative = Unclear / Unknown but desire to start fresh is still strong = LOW satisfaction in what you are holding on to right now / currently low achievement,
then…It’s not a difficult consideration on action.
The chance is, you are on a diminishing return and it’s unlikely to become an upward turn anymore.
If you hold on to it, you probably won’t get far.
If you let it go and restart, you have a 50% chance of hitting something good (As a general rule of thumb, unless informed clearly otherwise.)
The truth is, calculating risks is a no-brainer – Unplugging is always a risking thing to do, no matter for what reason.
What makes it hard is to decide is how much you care about what you have right now.
If you have figured it out, like I have. The rest is simple. Just be brave and do it.
Morrie was right in the sense that there is nothing to envy about being young.
I do agree that the solution to a happier life is not to go back in time.
It’s probably having the courage to unplug and restart at the right time.
I will try my best.
Nikisha 