Wishing and wondering

We all have a past that we sometimes wonder about. Jobs we didn’t take, places we didn’t move to, people we didn’t marry. I wonder about a lot of things. I have a great life, but there are a lot of ways I imagine I could have also had a great life that could be very different than what mine is today. I’m a nostalgic guy, and sometimes wondering is nothing more than an enjoyable mental break.

Where I suspect most people get into trouble is when the wondering turns into wishing.

We often fail to appreciate what we have and let gratitude go unexpressed. We wonder what things might have been like if we’d pursued a different career or married a high school fling. And then the wondering becomes wishing. And wishing for something that is no longer an option leads to depression, frustration and host of undesirable emotional states.

My suggestion is you leave your wondering to the past and your wishing to the future. There cannot be more to your past than there already is, but there can be more to your future than you might ever imagine.