What if you could remake your entire life? - As a mere hypothetical

[Monolith]

Bitcoin and shit of course, but convincing my parents to completely ignore Covid lockdowns is the big one.

 

[RinguPingu745]

I would get into some kind of sport instead of spending all my time playing video games. Somehow convince my parents to buy as many of the gen 1 pokemon cards as possible and keep them safe for when that one charizard card becomes worth stupid amounts of money. Also I guess invest in google and bitcoin early on.

 

[Betonhaus]

I mean as a baby I have no idea how much of the future I'm going to remember when my brain matter is still figuring out object permanence, but maybe I'd try to spend more time socialising with other kids my age and maybe try to commit to a team sport like hockey. Realistically I would have to assume that I'm not the only one who returns to the past, so things like Bitcoin may end up being unpredictable. I don't think I could change my uncle losing the family farm, but if i at least know enough to apply myself better at school and take better care of my health and social life and find guaranteed work right out of high school I'd still be better off.

 

[Sneed's Feed n Seed]

Much more confrontation, much more limit pushing, much more dickery, far more limits set.

I have never once lamented leaving or setting limits or picking a fight. The only regret I've ever had was not doing any of them sooner.

 

[One Winged Pear Farmer]

Rig the game with those big insider investments, otherwise dont think I’d really change much. Mistakes help you learn and very few were bad enough to not be worth the lesson they taught. Grabbing an electric cattle fence is a 0/10 though. No idea what kid me was thinking on that one

 

[PaleTay]

Assuming I'm not using it solely for money I don't think I could really change much, I knew basically what I wanted the first go around but would have picked a different major. My family would drag me down regardless and they're reliant enough on me that I don't have it in me to abandon them.

 

[UnidentifiedFlyingOrchid]

Let's say that you were suddenly transported from your sleep back to where you were as a baby, in your infantile state of being, but with the mind and intelligence you have now. You think the same way you do right now, just in a much younger body. No one knows besides you.

What would you do?

Time travel back with the same mind and intelligence as I have now? That would be a massive advantage. Knowing world events and technological advancements would be insanely useful. It would be incredibly easy to become super rich and powerful.

The people answering they wouldn't do anything different either didn't understand the question or are retarded.

My primary worry would be drawing the attention of dangerous powerful people.

 

[Fek]

I'd not change anything nor desire to repeat it all again. This life has served great purpose. It's allowed my forging through the fiery furnaces of personal experience, and I'm coming out all the more honed for it as each day passes. That's the entire point of the experience. I don't require a second go chasing after something like materialism or "righting" "wrongs", as I already appreciate each moment where such a thing "could have been" in all their splendor now - just as they are. Each moment, ultimately, is a blessing - even the most painful.

There truly is a divine comedy to it all, I suppose.

Spoiler: As an addendum

I always wanted to go to art school, maybe I’d do that or just study art more. I’d learn to play the piano.

(Not singling you out specifically, but more the sentiment being shared.)

I would urge anyone feeling impulses towards hobbies, traits, or an outright life path yet unexplored to remember it is never too late to try. One need not repeat their life from scratch in order to taste of its fruits. No matter what point one is in their life, it is always here and always now. The present is the point of power, friends. That quiet inner voice which is drowned out all too often by the buzz of modernity knows you better than it is typically given credit.

 

[Otterly]

I'd not change anything nor desire to repeat it all again. This life has served great purpose. It's allowed my forging through the fiery furnaces of personal experience, and I'm coming out all the more honed for it as each day passes. That's the entire point of the experience. I don't require a second go chasing after something like materialism or "righting" "wrongs", as I already appreciate them in all their splendor now - just as they are. Each moment, ultimately, is a blessing - even the most painful.

There truly is a divine comedy to it all, I suppose.

Spoiler: As an addendum

(Not singling you out specifically, but more the sentiment being shared.)

I would urge anyone feeling impulses towards hobbies, traits, or an outright life path yet unexplored to remember it is never too late to try. One need not repeat their life from scratch in order to taste of its fruits. No matter what point one is in their life, it is always here and always now. The present is the point of power, friends. That quiet inner voice which is drowned out all too often by the buzz of modernity knows you better than it is typically given credit.

You are of course completely right, and I thought this as I wrote it. I am hoping to buy a piano this year and get started.

 

[Smokeski]

There's a real pang to look back at all the mistakes you made and wonder what could have been. What if I took a little more risk? What if I pursued something I enjoyed instead of something that has an impressive title? There are so many things, when I look back with total clarity, I regret. Standing for years in a fog of propaganda and misplaced enthusiasm. Believing there was only one way to achieve the life I so carefully planned for myself. The biggest lesson I learned is that no matter how solid your plan, how many redundancies you have, the ship you are on is steered by tides instead of the sail you so carefully crafted.


If I could go back, I'd indulge my jungle fever far more.

 

[Unarmed Gunman]

The only thing I would change is I would join KiwiFarms many years earlier and spend far more time shitposting here. Maybe even become a mod or something idk

 

[Betonhaus]

Time travel back with the same mind and intelligence as I have now? That would be a massive advantage. Knowing world events and technological advancements would be insanely useful. It would be incredibly easy to become super rich and powerful.

The people answering they wouldn't do anything different either didn't understand the question or are retarded.

My primary worry would be drawing the attention of dangerous powerful people.

How much of world events during the first ten years of your life do you remember? Will you be able to bet on horse races or remember exactly when major political events (aside from 9/11) before 2010 happen?

Even ignoring the fact that you're somehow having adult quality memories in a baby's brain, you're not going to have superhuman memory. It might even be at least ten years before you can write down what you remember so you don't forget.

At best you'd have a recollection of what did and didn't work out for you, but you won't be able to jump on opportunities that are time sensitive. And even then, if you know yourself well enough you will probably know that you would act the same way in certain situations as you did last time. Maybe you'd be a bit more cautious like being better at respecting the speed limit so you don't experience a nasty accident again, but there's also the chance that you may experience misfortunes you avoided the first time out of pure luck.

 

[Neodanthril]

 

[Da Grim Reaper]

Not selling all the the Bitcoin I got for absolutely free over a decade ago for fucking TF2 hats.
Really, that's my biggest life regret. I could've been a gazillionaire today.

 

[UnidentifiedFlyingOrchid]

How much of world events during the first ten years of your life do you remember? Will you be able to bet on horse races or remember exactly when major political events (aside from 9/11) before 2010 happen?

No knowledge of horse races.
Major political events? I know every US presidental term in my lifetime and most of those before. I know who they ran against. I know important political figures (equivalent to John Boehner or Harry Reid). I know quite a few of the world leaders. I know during which presidencies major world events happened (wars, disasters, scandals).

Even ignoring the fact that you're somehow having adult quality memories in a baby's brain, you're not going to have superhuman memory. It might even be at least ten years before you can write down what you remember so you don't forget.

It doesn't take superhuman memory to remember the highlights of a timeline of history. Kids can write by 5. I just did a little thought experiment right now; I tried to remember as many things as I could about the first 5 years I was alive. I closed my eyes to avoid "cheating" from seeing any kind of clues. I remembered quite a lot. Many things I haven't thought about in many years. Lists of popular brands, fads, media, companies, and famous people. A rough timeline of the events of my own life and the people and places. If I can recall things from that long ago, that I haven't thought about in a really long time, I think 5-10 years without writing won't make me forget.

At best you'd have a recollection of what did and didn't work out for you, but you won't be able to jump on opportunities that are time sensitive.

You don't need precise precision to remember to buy Apple stock and that Sears goes bankrupt. Or some well known collectables that grew in value in the long term. And also, the technology that was incrementally invented.

And even then, if you know yourself well enough you will probably know that you would act the same way in certain situations as you did last time.

I have grown and changed as a person. I have learned many many lessons. My capability to make choices has massively improved since I was 5, or 10, or 15, etc, etc.

Maybe you'd be a bit more cautious like being better at respecting the speed limit so you don't experience a nasty accident again, but there's also the chance that you may experience misfortunes you avoided the first time out of pure luck.

The probability of random negative events is always there. I could randomly have an aneurism as I type this. The odds of these negative events are sometimes effected by my decisions. As a small child your parents can expose you to riskier odds. If I grew up in a family of chainsaw & baby jugglers (a silly example), then I would not want to try and survive childhood again. My childhood didn't have elevated levels of risk beyond the normal amount. I am as likely to be hit by lightning now then when I was a child.

—•—​

Here is an analogy. Imagine playing a new videogame not knowing anything about it and learning as you go. Then imagine playing the game a second time. For me at least, I am way way better the second time. Real life has randomness to it, but it isn't a DarkSouls hard roguelike game. The odds of a "game over" death are very low. Having my adult memories is like having a walkthrough/FAQ/wiki; and a cheat code that bypasses all educational learning, hard life lessons, and many timesinks/deadends.

 

[Otterly]

Then imagine playing the game a second time

Yeah. It’s wisdom you gain. I was incredibly dumb for too long. I’m probably still dumb now and in twenty years more I’ll think that about current me. The bits of wisdom I’ve gained have been gained mainly by my mistakes, and if could go back and have a redo I’d be able to start with a higher wisdom level (and make better mistakes.)
But you can’t, all you can do is learn
Reincarnation without retaining wisdom seems like a very cruel thing to me. So is getting wiser when older then dying, lol. ‘I get it now! Oh dear, I’m dead…’
There were a few places in my life where I can see I made a sub optimal choice and I can see why I made it but I wouldn’t make it again. And places where I just didn’t have the wisdom or strength of character to take the right route or navigate and if I could go back I’d do it different and avoid a lot of heartache.
All you can do is learn from your mistakes and try to pass knowledge on to your kids

 

[Pagan Min]

There are quite a few things I'd do. For one, I'd wind up meeting my girlfriend (weird thing to call her since we're both quite a bit too old to use the terms "boyfriend/girlfriend", but whatever!) a lot sooner, since there are so many things I'd love to do and see with her and the sooner the better. Another thing I'd do would be influence my family to live a healthier & fitter lifestyle, so they could be around a LITTLE longer. I'd also work harder to develop those gifts that God granted to me instead of wasting them all. But most of all, I'd appreciate everyone in my life MUCH more and let them ALL know how much I love and cherish them.

(Also, get a load of Bitcoin when it was dirt cheap! LOL!)

 

[VIPPER?]

Other than meme answers about picking winning lottery numbers/stonks/memecoins my life has gone fairly decently. I guess my biggest regret is not getting into more communities when I was young and everything wasn't infested with troons. Anything else is stuff I can fix now (mostly skills I wish I had) but am simply too lazy and autismal to develop.

But even like ooohhhh shoulda invested on bitcoin!!! When I was aware of it as a wee lad, I didn't have the money to invest and couldn't reasonably have gotten much, and even going from 1$ to 140k... That's lifechanging money but would not even get me a house now. Even getting in early on Doge; I was 20-something when it came out, and could have bought 25 bucks worth, but I was poor as fuck at the then too and again, huge windfall of cash but not quite enough to be set for life so instead of being "merely comfortable" I'd end up "quite comfortable" instead. Not worth losing sleep over.

 

[foam rolla]

• Gotten into fitness and weights at a younger age. Probably gotten into eating healthier too.
  
  
• Build a skill or develop a focus on something during school. I didn't do well in school as 90% of it didn't interest me. I wish I developed a skill or something that could make me money later on as all I was doing was hanging out with friends and playing vidya.
  
  
• Realize the power in being a self starter. When I was a teen, I had no self confidence in getting a job. I couldn't understand how to go about it. So in order to make money, I did my own thing and did jobs for people in my neighborhood by putting myself out there and giving things a go. However, I didn't understand that putting yourself out there and starting your own thing can get you somewhere in life and this lesson alluded me till I was much older.
  
  
• Done more for my family. I felt like I could of helped my family out with things around the house and put more effort in giving them a hand. I seen families around where I live who have kids that are lazy, do nothing for their family and just get handouts from their family. I think about how shit it is to produce kids who can't even help with little things for their parents.
  
  
• Fucking up important life stages. When I was finishing up college, I had all my ducks in a row. Did good in school, had a job in my career field. But I felt burned out and hadn't taken care of my health. After graduating, I just did nothing for a long time and pissed away the momentum I'd built up. I wish I just taken a few months off to get my health in order, taken a job in something outside my field to make money and feel motivated and maybe work on my career on the side.
  
  
• Not focused on weirdo or bpd bitches when I was younger.
  
  
• Understanding social dynamics. It wasn't till I was older that I realized I had a decent enough ability to make friends outside of my circle. But when I was younger I was worried what people thought of me and lacked an ability to interact. I had friends who probably weren't good for me and didn't have my best interests. But I hung with these people because I didn't know anything else. I wish I had these skills earlier so I could of widened my social circle.
  

On the flip side, I never got into drugs or became a drunk or got a dumb whore knocked up or got myself into crippling debt. So it's not all bad.

 

[Wilson The Ball]

1. Never touch the Internet or a computer besides for work
2. Never touch video games
3. Play sports and become the HECKIN BASED CHAD
4. Do better in school, actually apply effort and not coast
5. Do better by my parents, they went through a lot and deserve better