Member-only story
The Moment I Realized I Was Stuck in the Past
At every staff meeting in my office, we do an icebreaker activity. This month, we played Would You Rather. As the game progressed, I noticed that I fell into the minority of opinions. I was one of only a few people who would rather live on the beach than in a penthouse. I was one of the few who would prefer to have the urge to sneeze the rest of my life than to have the hiccups for eternity. (Hey, hiccups can be dangerous.) I wasn’t surprised that I held unusual opinions. If you’ve read my other work, you know I generally do.
What shocked me was when, upon the question, “Would you rather know the future or re-do the past?” I was one of only two people who chose the latter, out of a group of several dozen people. Just me and the intern.
“You guys must have some dark secrets,” joked one of my coworkers.
“No, I’ve just made a lot of mistakes I’d like to re-do,” I responded, a little more honestly than I meant to. Cue a round of “aww’s.”
I realize my decision wasn’t the most practical. If I knew the future, I could play the stock market. But with what money? Money I would have had, had I just decided to invest at a younger age. If I knew the future, I would know what not to worry about. But what about the stuff I would dread? Yes, I would know if it all turned out all right or if I was horribly…
