regrets

[globetrotter]

thinking about what I am most proud of leads of course to what I am least proud of.

I would say that I made very similar mistakes to many people - when I was in my early 20's I thought that I was smarter than everybody, and made some mistakes based on arragance. I have made 2 very major career decisions while emotionally charged, and while the satisfaction of telling somebody important to piss off cannot be underestimated, it can be expensive.

 

[Eric]

I can't say I regret anything.

I take alot of risks because I understand that life is short. Not all of them pay off immediately in the short term way I plan, but whether they do or not I learn a lesson from them. One quote I live by is: "Every failure is one step closer to success".

Life has been rough, lots of struggle, pain and failure, but it has made me strong and made me who. So I can't regret without negating the man I've become.

Eric

 

[Kai]

I've been needlessly cruel and mean to several people, one of which was a former girlfriend. I still feel very guilty to this day over these things.
The mistakes I make which haunt me are those which have hurt other people.

I've made tons of other mistakes (bad investments, stupid decisions, etc.) but I don't really regret them that much I look at them as just another part of living.

 

[matadorpoeta]

i agree. the things i regret most are the mean things i said to people when i was young and cruel--though it can be argued that my cruelty only made them stronger in the end.

i also regret not marrying the girl i fell in love with at 19. i did as much damage to her as i did to myself.

my regrets can be summed up in one thing: it would have been cool to have grown up faster.

 

[Renault78law]

i should have went to med school...

 

[PHV]

i should have went to med school...

It's never too late.

 

[norcaltransplant]

i should have went to med school...

Funny, I should have went to law school or dabbled in the business arena. Medical school is pretty cool, but I still feel like I need to pick up an MBA or JD in the future if I ever hope to work in HC management or policy. At least you'll be able to afford a few Barba shirts and live with your regret, while I'll be supporting lawyers with my regret (malpractice insurance ~$200,000).

 

[Renault78law]

At least you'll be able to afford a few Barba shirts and live with your regret, while I'll be supporting lawyers and my shoe fetish with my regret...

Fixed. Law school was great...but looking for a job isn't so fun, especially with student loan creditors breaking down the door. The whole process leaves me feeling a bit cheated - lots of empty promises. But hey, at least I passed the bar. The med school crack was made half-jokingly. Deciding law over medicine was one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make. I doubt I'd apply to med school again...would take too much time and taking the MCAT again would be a *****. Besides, I see myself involved in business within the next couple of years... norcal, you by any chance go to NYMC?

 

[globetrotter]

Quote:

(norcaltransplant @ 30 Dec. 2004, 10:10) At least you'll be able to afford a few Barba shirts and live with your regret, while I'll be supporting lawyers and my shoe fetish with my regret...
Fixed. Law school was great...but looking for a job isn't so fun, especially with student loan creditors breaking down the door. Â The whole process leaves me feeling a bit cheated - lots of empty promises. Â But hey, at least I passed the bar. The med school crack was made half-jokingly. Â Deciding law over medicine was one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make. Â I doubt I'd apply to med school again...would take too much time and taking the MCAT again would be a *****. Â Besides, I see myself involved in business within the next couple of years... norcal, you by any chance go to NYMC?
gentlemen, please take my curiosity at face value, I am genuinly curious about something and please do not take this in any way as an affront. how do you find yourself in a position where you don't know if you want to be a doctor or a lawyer? basically, the only things that they have in common is that you need to be bright to get into and survive the training, and that they offer you a similar socio-economic position in life. did you find yourself in a position where you simple didn't know what you wanted to "do" at the point where you had to make a choice, or did you really want something else that didn't strike you as practical? how did it work, if you don't mind my asking.

 

[Nonk]

My general lack of formal education. (I left school at 16)

 

[Renault78law]

how do you find yourself in a position where you don't know if you want to be a doctor or a lawyer? basically, the only things that they have in common is that you need to be bright to get into and survive the training, and that they offer you a similar socio-economic position in life. did you find yourself in a position where you simple didn't know what you wanted to "do" at the point where you had to make a choice, or did you really want something else that didn't strike you as practical? how did it work, if you don't mind my asking.

It's not as uncommon as you'd think.

I've never known what I've wanted to do with my life...and still don't. Speaking for myself, I have pretty stereotypical Asian immigrant parents (an engineer and an accountant) who value education very highly, especially professional educations. When you mentioned similar socio-economic position in life, you hit the nail on the head. Both are safe jobs - relatively high pay, good job security, well respected, etc. Being the obediant kids that we are, my siblings and I obliged. My older sister is an orthopedic surgeon, and my younger sibling is currently in law school.

Coming out of undergrad, I had no idea what I wanted to do - of course, my parents 'encouraged' more school. Luckily, I'm pretty good at standardized tests, so I had a lot of options, with law and medschool being the most traditional paths. I decided to go with law because it's the more diverse field and less of a commitment (plus my miserable sister did a great job talking me out of med school).

How did it work out? To quote Maverick in Top Gun, ask me in the morning but it's looking pretty good so far. I just graduated and passed the bar, so I'm looking for a job. I think I'll work at a lawfirm for a couple of years before either opening up my own practice or starting a business venture. Who knows, anything can happen...

 

[globetrotter]

Quote:

how do you find yourself in a position where you don't know if you want to be a doctor or a lawyer? basically, the only things that they have in common is that you need to be bright to get into and survive the training, and that they offer you a similar socio-economic position in life. did you find yourself in a position where you simple didn't know what you wanted to "do" at the point where you had to make a choice, or did you really want something else that didn't strike you as practical? how did it work, if you don't mind my asking.
It's not as uncommon as you'd think. I've never known what I've wanted to do with my life...and still don't. Â Speaking for myself, I have pretty stereotypical Asian immigrant parents (an engineer and an accountant) who value education very highly, especially professional educations. Â When you mentioned similar socio-economic position in life, you hit the nail on the head. Â Both are safe jobs - relatively high pay, good job security, well respected, etc. Â Being the obediant kids that we are, my siblings and I obliged. Â My older sister is an orthopedic surgeon, and my younger sibling is currently in law school. Â Coming out of undergrad, I had no idea what I wanted to do - of course, my parents 'encouraged' more school. Â Luckily, I'm pretty good at standardized tests, so I had a lot of options, with law and medschool being the most traditional paths. Â I decided to go with law because it's the more diverse field and less of a commitment (plus my miserable sister did a great job talking me out of med school). How did it work out? Â To quote Maverick in Top Gun, ask me in the morning but it's looking pretty good so far. Â I just graduated and passed the bar, so I'm looking for a job. Â I think I'll work at a lawfirm for a couple of years before either opening up my own practice or starting a business venture. Â Who knows, anything can happen...
interesting. I once spent an evening with a group of people who were all children of immigrants from the subcontinent in the silicon valley area. Their parents all had small businneses they had built up, motels, minimarkets, etc. but the kids (well, they wre my age at the time) had all graduated from good schools in hard subjects. they really reminded me of my parents generation of jewish immigrants - people who had come over and worked hard at manual labor to build businesses and then get their kids to school to be proffetionals. good luck with finding your way.

 

[Eric]

First off I'm drunk, ok drunk party. Â Thats me hpefully, if he is aliv at Thailand. Â Happy new year to everybody. Â regeret is silly to m, because yo ave to learn from your mistakes your-me's. Â there is no better way to learn, than your own mistakes. Eric (drunk) Edit* Hahaha. This is the first sober chance I've had to look at this post. Jesus, this is pretty funny. Apparently my typing also gets slurred when I'm drunk

 

[Eric]

CTGuy, you deserve a sober response.

I really think regret is a waste of time and energy. You can't change the past, so you might as well except it and learn from it. Of all the struggles I've had in life, I wouldn't take one of them back, I glad they happened they have made me the strong man that I am today.

And as for all the relationships that have gone sour. They have each taught me a lesson, and I've grown from each experience no matter how painful it was, and so did the opposite party.

Long term failure is impossible, as I understand that each failure is a temporary setback, and that I'm lucky it happened so that when I success happens it has a stronger foundation.

I mentioned in another thread that I overcame depression. The majority of my life I have been unhappy, but I'm thankful for my past sorrow because it made me look for and find happiness. I'm a very stong person for it, without going through that I would be alot weaker now.

Eric

 

[Leo Jay]

I've been needlessly cruel and mean to several people, one of which was a former girlfriend. Â I still feel very guilty to this day over these things. Â The mistakes I make which haunt me are those which have hurt other people. Â I've made tons of other mistakes (bad investments, stupid decisions, etc.) but I don't really regret them that much I look at them as just another part of living.

It's great to learn from past behavior, and use those lessons to improve the way you deal with people in the future, but I hope you're not continuing to beat yourself up over it. It was what you did, then -- it's not who you are now.