Will we regret about something after years?

I guess you have heard the sayings of old people about what they regret at the end of their life. It’s not enough love in their lives, not enough traveled… And I think that looking back and analyzing is sometimes useful. I am not one of those who are always nostalgic for a beautiful youth.

Youth, of course, was a beautiful time, but somehow I realize that it’s worth trying a little bit, and the present and future will bloom with much brighter colors than we could allow ourselves at 19.

But still, sometimes I experience conscious and, I would say, useful regret. When I look back, I understand that I could start something earlier, but I did not think about it, I was too lazy or chose something else. And no, not at all in order to scold myself and mourn of a failed life. Indeed, blaming yourself for such things means ignoring the context in which such decisions were made. Just to look at my life now and understand what I will regret in 10 years more if I will not start now.

Just one example. I have a huge number of people I am familiar with. I even consider many of them friends. But I absolutely do not have the skill to maintain relationships with people at a distance, to correspond, to keep in touch. And then the strings that connected us become thinner and somehow it’s easy not to continue this communication. I am sorry that I do not invest in maintaining relationships with some people close to me in spirit. I’m not even talking about business, “useful” contacts… It is awful how many business cards I sent to the trash without even checking them. At some time, I may regret such a lack of attentiveness.

Still, do you have such regrets? What do they teach you?

© Fortune, 2020