Do You Ever Think About "The Path Not Taken?"

No matter who we might be, our lives are shaped by the unending chain of choices we make. Some of them are completely voluntary, some of them are forced upon us.

Those choices form a long chain that basically adds up to who we are, and where we are, at this point in time.

But what if we had chosen "the other option," at some point along the trajectory of our lives? What difference might it have made? Moreover, where might we have made an active choice, where we instead chose to sit back and simply "let life unfold, by itself?"

It can be an interesting mind exercise to ponder what would have turned out differently, if some of those key point had been different.

But What Would I Have Chosen, Instead?

When we get into this sort of speculative thinking, it's typically as a result of sitting with a regret about something we chose that turned out badly, or something we didn't choose, when we had the chance.

The challenge is to even find an "entry point," because one step in a different direction will likely change everything that follows. If you could go back and make just one different choice, which one would it be?

Chances are you'd end up with so many possible candidates that it would become extremely difficult to choose... as they say, "one thing leads to another!"

I sometimes think about going to University in the USA rather than staying in Europe, as my extended family would have preferred. But that isn't really what sometimes gnaws at the corners of my soul. More often, I think about the outcome had I actually insisted on waiting six months so I could go to my first choice — University of Washington, here in nearby Seattle — rather than the 3rd/4th choice that would admit me right away, the University of Texas at Austin.

Chances are I would have ended up becoming one of the early coders at Microsoft, instead of becoming... well, pretty much a creative slacker, floating aimlessly from one thing to another. But would I have been happy with that particular scenario?

Without a doubt, happier geographically. And personality wise I fit much better here in the Northwest, than I ever did in Texas... even after 20+ years there.

But is that enough?

The thing about choices is that we truly don't know what the alternative will bring us. And sometimes the choices we effectively have are between bad and even worse.

So whereas I sometimes think about my "Path Not Taken," I have to admit it's more done out of idle curiosity, than out of any sincere sense of regret.

Even so, it can be a fun mind exercise, sometimes!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week ahead!

Do YOU ever think about some of your "choices not taken? Is there some specific point you always return to? Do leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 2023.02.20 23:41 PST
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