I used to wonder how my life would turn out; Not stress over it, just wonder where I would go, what I would do and who I would become as a person.
I can recall actively thinking about it in my mid-teens and, as I got older, about what actions and activities I could, or would, undertake to affect my future positively. Of course, at that early stage I was not capable of making long-reaching decisions and even moving forward into my early 20's I was a more reactive person than proactive. How my future would unfold seemed as much dependant on chance than any real input of my own. Of course, there was input.
Everything we do as humans has an affect on some aspect of our lives; Our own or others. Cause and effect I suppose. Be it positive or negative how we think and act will unfold at a later stage; Sometimes much later and sometimes immediately.
I was fortunate to learn that early in life, although in hindsight not early enough, and to ensure that I cultivated the attitudes and took the actions that would carry me forward with what, at the the time, I hoped were the right tools in the toolbox; Skills and attributes that would help me craft a positive and fulfilled life.
I'm now old enough to look back on a good portion of my life and see the fruits of my labour, to consider the harvest I have reaped from that which I sowed along the way so to speak. It's not a bad looking harvest I have to admit.
Regret is most often an unwelcome guest in a person's life and I am pleased to say I hold very little I regret; Certainly very little in areas I could have personally changed. I think it's a good position to be in and looking back on my teen and early-adult self I'd have to say that I am proud of how I thought back then, the precursor to who I am now.
Now, here I am, still an unfolding future ahead of me and, still, I have the ability to affect it through the right attitude and actions.
- Mahatma Gandhi