On regret

VoodooPlata

VoodooPlata

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I wrote an introspective text today on facebook, and then decided to throw it on here as well as it might be a source of inspiration and/or thought even though it's probably preaching to the choir. Feel free to flame if it makes you feel better. (I used google translate and then corrected the awkward parts, so if something looks weird I probably just missed it):

----
On regret:

Today a friend told me that he won't train hard after this year, because it is not healthy - he will now only work out to be healthy when he gets older. Today he works hard, but he simply thinks that it's gotten to be enough - he is strong enough. I respect this sentiment, health is an important goal and he displays maturity and foresight in his statement. But this is a small exposition about why I do not agree.

"Strong enough" is of course understood individually - strong enough for what? I'm strong enough to get the heavy stuff when a friend moves to a new place, but I am not strong enough to win even junior championships in powerlifting - if I could participate. Not everyone is competitive, not everyone feels that they have to be stronger than anyone else to feel good. And that doesn't only apply to strength - I think my great BJJ coaches (well, they aren't my coaches anymore but you get it) could care less about how strong they and myself are, but instead they must decide how far they want to go in their sport - this too is an individual goal which has to be balanced with families, jobs and lives.

I love rollercoasters, and I always have. When I was in Las Vegas I thought I would ride the rollercoaster on top of the Stratosphere, but I never got around to it - other things got in the way, I couldn't be bothered to go there since it's well off-strip and none of my travelling companions were interested so I would have to do it myself, etc... That I regret. At that point I prioritized other things, probably for good reasons, but in retrospect, those reasons are not good enough. I think mostly of the Stratosphere when I think of the trip to Las Vegas, even though it was a trip full of great moments and fantastic experiences. That's how my brain works, and I think many others' do too - I had time to go, there was nothing stopping me. Except myself. And that stings a bit.

When I was in my younger twenties I did a lot of stupid things - when I did anything at all. This situation is probably familiar to all who bother to read all of this, so we won't go over that again. But if I can feel this much regret now over seven lost years, now that I'm 28 - what will my regret be like when I'm 68? At that point I can't think back to the black belt I never took, never finishing my degree or the 200 kilograms I never lifted off the ground and think "I'll do it later". How does that regret feel? Nothing stopped me. Nothing.

I'll have sore knees - squats and leg locks will destroy them. I will have a broken nose and cauliflower ears. I will have a fucked back and pain in every joint. My friend will still be able to walk up stairs and bend down to tie his shoes, and won't have to stuff himself with painkillers to get up in the morning. But on his deathbed, he will not think of everything bad he did - he will think about everything he never got around to doing. And as an atheist I don't think he gets to do it all over.

Even at 28, regret is worse than pain. I think I'm far-sighted when I decide that it's going to have to be worth the pain.
 
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I REGRET the 30 minutes of my life I've just wasted reading this then trying to understand why you would so overthink such a trivial matter.
 
This took you 30 minutes to read? :icon_lol:

Why didn't you just quit in the middle?
 
Nah few to read rest trying to find reasons not to poke my own eyes out. I found one
 
Thanks for sharing.
 
"Consider yourself lightly; consider the world deeply."
"Do not regret things about your own personal life."
"Do not envy another's good or evil."
"Do not lament parting on any road whatsoever."
"Do not complain or feel bitterly about yourself or others."
"Do not be intent on posessing valuables or a fief in old age."

-Miyamoto Musashi
 
ssdd said:
"Consider yourself lightly; consider the world deeply."
"Do not regret things about your own personal life."
"Do not envy another's good or evil."
"Do not lament parting on any road whatsoever."
"Do not complain or feel bitterly about yourself or others."
"Do not be intent on posessing valuables or a fief in old age."

-Miyamoto Musashi
Click to expand...

Do not listen to any one who tells you what you should or should not do. Ever.
 
I happen to agree with those sentiments and view them as "notes-to-self" more than a set of commands. Like "note to self: do not drink 5 shots and a 6 pack of beers and expect to be ok". Its also stupid and counterproductive to dwell on your failures. You should acknowledge them, work to improve them if thats possible, avoid repeating them, and move on.
 
miaou said:
Do not listen to any one who tells you what you should or should not do. Ever.
Click to expand...

Except for Jim Wendler?

puppyeyes2ja9.jpg
 
I don't see training hard and being healthy as mutually exclusive things. I do see how as someone ages their training methods, exercise choices and goals might change. Recovery, and training economy might become a bigger issue. But that doesn't mean not training hard. Just training differently.

A couple examples would be Jim Wendler and Dave Tate, who are training differently then when their goals were to be better powerlifters...but you wouldn't say they aren't training hard anymore. Or a personal example, my Grandfather turned 77 this year, and while he doesn't "train", he works hard, putting plenty of intensity into various tasks, like chopping wood, shoveling snow, breaking up concrete with a sledgehammer, and it's that hard work that keeps him healthy.

So, no one gets to make excuses. Because I say so.
 
paolo27th said:
You don`t regret sleeping during English lessons?
Click to expand...

As i said, this was translated with google translate and then quickly gone over - I certainly did not sleep during my english lessons, even though I could have seeing as my stepmother is Canadian and I was raised bilingually. Not saying my english is perfect - but it's pretty good. I'll fix the part you commented on.

EDIT: Also, I'm pretty impressed with google translate translating "ta mig dit", literally "take me there" into "get myself there" - it's at least understandable.
 
Tosa said:
I don't see training hard and being healthy as mutually exclusive things. I do see how as someone ages their training methods, exercise choices and goals might change. Recovery, and training economy might become a bigger issue. But that doesn't mean not training hard. Just training differently.

A couple examples would be Jim Wendler and Dave Tate, who are training differently then when their goals were to be better powerlifters...but you wouldn't say they aren't training hard anymore. Or a personal example, my Grandfather turned 77 this year, and while he doesn't "train", he works hard, putting plenty of intensity into various tasks, like chopping wood, shoveling snow, breaking up concrete with a sledgehammer, and it's that hard work that keeps him healthy.

So, no one gets to make excuses. Because I say so.
Click to expand...

Very good point. Also, no excuses.

1284747141546.jpg
 
Tosa said:
I don't see training hard and being healthy as mutually exclusive things. I do see how as someone ages their training methods, exercise choices and goals might change. Recovery, and training economy might become a bigger issue. But that doesn't mean not training hard. Just training differently.

A couple examples would be Jim Wendler and Dave Tate, who are training differently then when their goals were to be better powerlifters...but you wouldn't say they aren't training hard anymore. Or a personal example, my Grandfather turned 77 this year, and while he doesn't "train", he works hard, putting plenty of intensity into various tasks, like chopping wood, shoveling snow, breaking up concrete with a sledgehammer, and it's that hard work that keeps him healthy.

So, no one gets to make excuses. Because I say so.
Click to expand...

istockphoto_1535790_i_agree.jpg
 
It all sounds good and noble on paper. Its the point before your deathbed where you cant play with your grandchildren or bring in the groceries, etc where you might regret pushing so hard as a young man. The muscles will be gone and you'll look back and realize you never needed them in the first place. But hey, do you.
 
The cliff notes
-you wasted the past 7 years cause you didn't get on the stratosphere
-you are going to go after some implied goal so hardcore that you will be crippled so you won't feel regret and beat yourself up
 
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