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Expression: If I only knew then what I know now
We all have moments in our lives that we wish we could go back and change.
Whether it’s a mistake or a decision we regret, it’s natural to wax nostalgic and think about how things could have worked out differently.
We often find ourselves saying, “If only I knew then what I know now.”
It’s a phrase many of us use without even thinking about it to rationalize and validate the learning we’re doing today in the context of past experiences.
Unfortunately, youth is wasted on the young, and it can be hard to take advantage of all the wisdom life has to offer when you’re young and stupid.
But looking back on our lives can also give us perspective and appreciation for where we are today.
It can also help highlight all the regrets we may have.
This regret can sometimes be overwhelming, and it’s natural to feel the desire to rewrite the past.
As I write this post, I am knocking on the door to 50.
Yep, I will pass into the great beyond of the second unknown half of my life this year.
If only I knew then what I know now, I would have been one very bitter young man. Ha, ha, ha!
It’s important to remember that our past experiences have shaped who we are today.
We are the product of the life we have lived.
It’s essential to take lessons from those experiences so we don’t repeat the same mistakes.
That said, the older we become, the less ‘future’ we have and fewer opportunities for repeat mistakes.
See, every cloud has a silver lining.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 74.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.