Some of the best advice I’ve ever received.

79 pushing 80 here, so already a lifetime of experiences, successes, challenges and screwups. And I've experienced each of these many times.

I have a mental list I review periodically that could be titled "Boy, That Was Dumb"

Smoking is at the top of that list; glad I got away from them 20 years ago, but it took an angina attack to convince me.

We learn from our mistakes and then our time is over.

We tend to remember things that had an impact on ourselves or someone else. Because of the impact, our brain stores the action as a memory. Memories, both good and bad, can be triggered at anytime causing us to question our actions. I've been there and in my opinion, if no one was injured, killed, or caused irreparable harm then let it go. Come to terms with what you did, learn from it, and move on with your life.

Some memories are happy, many are sad, some just seem to be random, where I remember something that happened. A fair number of memories are of parts of the past that younger people will never know about because the memories are of times and circumstances that are just gone.
It may be that for those of us who have been lucky enough to survive into old age that these memories pop up because most of our experiences are behind us, rather than ahead.
I am in my seventh decade. My happiest memories are from when I was in my late teens and through my twenties. We had more hope back then that we were going to be able to overcome the injustices of our society and create a better world for all.
At least you look back at your experiences and wish that you could have done better. You have grown in wisdom as you have aged. We all have the opportunity to do that, but some people don't bother. They just...get old, and the worst ones, like the MAGAts, demonstrate how not to be.
Sending hugs.

It's the only time where I have any power to act.

That said, I do understand why people look back to events that have already occurred. It gives us perspective and lessons are learned from those events.

Balance is helpful, though. I'm sure you made both good and bad decisions, as we all do.

I spend at least 30" a day in a focused attention session. It takes a good deal of mental discipline to do this. After years and years of practice, I sometimes see a visual image of my life as a jigsaw puzzle. Every once in a while, a puzzle piece gets filled in.

When I say "differently," that's what I mean. I am not in a regular consciousness mode when I do it. The regular conciousness mode is probably gamma or beta, but I do this in the theta brainwave state.

I have a section that looks like the shape of the continent of Asia filled in. Looking at it as a regular jigsaw, usually in the shape of a rectangle, it is about 2/3 filled in.

It is making me think that a lot of stuff in life happens for a reason. I'm not sure if I can say everything happens for a reason, but there seems to be a reason for a lot of it.

It's very satisfying. It certainly gives a perspective that there is meaning to life.

but I never fully felt any real benefits and over time moved on from it.

I think as humans we all have an innate ability to have regrets especially as we move into our later years. None of us are perfect. So to not think about regretsI as I remember and reflect on the past, I try to focus on being physically active and/or productive every day. It works for me.

We all have good days and bad days--days when we say and do things we regret, and days when we say and do good things. If the balance of your life is kindness and loving actions--that's what is important. Do your best to make amends if you feel you've hurt someone, and try to do better each day. No one is perfect. Then forgive yourself, 3Hotdogs. It's often the hardest thing to do.

I still have a lot of screwing up to do. Hopefully it happens at a slower rate than in my youth. Lessons learned and all that.

But I do tend to think most often about instances where I should have done better. I am most own worst critic. it's always been that way for me.

This isn't all-consuming, at least. I don't dwell on this stuff, but it pops up in my mind far more frequently than pleasant memories.

C'est la vie, I guess. The best we can do is try to be better people going forward.

is part and parcel of being homo sapiens!

One - I only went on one date with and we didn’t even connect so it took me a while to remember who he was.

The other is a PhD guy with 3 ex wife’s and a number 4 wife he is currently cheating on - called to apologize to me ???

You might remember events more than others.

are about things I did that were wrong -- or, more importantly, things I did that other people said were wrong. It's been that way for as long as I can remember, like since I was 4 (Thanks, mom.)

It's human nature to regret that which our consciences tell us we screwed up, and we know those things mainly through the self-awareness that comes with age and experience. You could consider that a good thing, because it means your conscience and self-awareness are in good working order.

We need only be concerned with meeting the standards we set for ourselves along the way and forgiving ourselves for not meeting some. (Nobody bats 1.000, or even .500.) The standards others set for us don't matter.

Now, if only I could believe that in my own case.