The Quest for Perfection: Revisiting the Past to Build a Better Future

in Hive Learnerslast year (edited)

What if you could travel time and and reduce your age? It's an exciting idea with infinite possibilities, but it is also dangerous. Here are my thoughts and what I would do if i had such an opportunity.

jpg_20230425_193400_0000.jpg

One thing about being human that we are not exactly told when we come to this world is that perfection does not exist. This means that we don't get to have things in the exact manner we may hope, and we often don't make the best decisions. If, then, there could be an opportunity to make changes in the past—revert decisions, take some steps, and all that—one might very well consider it, as it would be seen as a way to make things perfect.

When it comes to time travel, however, I like to tell myself that I don't want to meddle. I do not have first-hand experience with time travel—no one does, actually—but living vicariously through the experiences of different characters in different time-travel stories in films and books, I know very well how dangerous it is to travel through time and make changes.

In a different article of mine, in fact, I explained my thoughts on the dilemma of time travel. It's about choosing between traveling forward in time and backwards. And my conclusion, basically, is that I really wouldn't want to travel in time. I believe life is a journey, and every experience of it shapes us into the person we are. However, this time I am making a reconsideration to explore. After all, it is an exciting concept with many possibilities.

divider4.png

Before I dive deeper, what does it really mean to reduce one's age? What defines the age of a person? Undoubtedly, time is the measure of change and is the basis on which we determine age. The age of what, exactly? The mind or the body?

To reduce one's age would technically be to alter the measure of how long they have been existing in time. Technically, this is to travel back in time, but with a twist!

If I were to have the opportunity to reduce my age, it would mean that I would be getting younger, invariably. This, technically, should have an intertwined effect on my body and also on my mind.

I think an effect on my mind would make the whole purpose of traveling back in time futile because, well, my mind would be younger, and then I may not even remember why I traveled back in time in the first place. So, I would rather go with the idea that my mind would be intact and only my body would be younger. But I digress...

So, what would I do differently, then?

Keeping in mind that the present I know may very well be different from what I know, I would endeavor to do something that would likely yield a better me.

To start with, love isn't something I was exactly good at when I was much younger. I'm not saying I am some kind of love doctor now, but that I made very gullible mistakes. The good thing, however, is that I always learned from my mistakes. Oh, yes. I have been in quite a number of relationships—with women, please. Let's be specific here.


untitled.gif

The relationships were far from perfect, and I didn't always do well. I was much younger then, though, so don't look at me like Thanos. It isn't like I was a heartbreaker. I just wasn't a heart-maker (if there's anything like that). I would love to do better if I did get the opportunity to be younger again.

Living my dreams

I have had a couple of ambitious dreams that I could have lived out, but I slept on them, and they just never became a part of my life. If I could be younger again, I would try to chase them, especially with the experience and knowledge I have now.

For one, I used to draw before. As a kid, drawing was a natural thing for me. I did it with joy, and I was moderately doing well with them. For some reason, I never did it much as I grew up. I wonder what I may have become if I had taken the time to develop myself.

IMG_20230425_192535.png

Another is that I would take music more seriously than I did. I had more time when I was younger, and I could have used it to explore music even deeper. Now that I am older, life gets in the way and I don't make enough time for it.

divider4.png

Making these changes in my life would alter the reality I already know. Many things would change in my life, and I would most definitely turn out to be a much different person than I am now at this present time and age.

I would still make mistakes along the way, but I guess that's life after all; we don't get everything we want. So, if I could reduce my age and do things a little differently, they would be in my relationships and also in my dreams. Surely, there is a lot more that could be done, but I will stick with these for now.


Original photos
GIFs by Tenor

Sort:  
 last year  

I like the dimensions that you explored in this topic. Honestly i didn't even consider that. Everyone want to travel back with the knowledge and experiences they have now and never considered that as they go back in time, their mind and whatever we think we know now becomes futile because it will also go back to the way we reason things then.

We have these experiences and knowledge because we were given the gift of time. Time to advance in age and witness a lot of technological innovations. Imagine me going back to the time i was still using baby stroller with the expectation that i will run immediately. It will not work, i will still be a baby that needed help in order to survive.

This is a good read.

 last year  

The question of DE-AGING is a delicate matter. Time-manipulation is a crucial discussion. I just had to consider its effect on the mind.

I like your analogy. DE-AGING is literally going backwards, really. It's much better to accept how far one has come and try to do better from there.

 last year  

We can never be perfect because the mistakes we make are what shapes us into learning and becoming better while moving on with our lives. The thing is, travelling to the past could be dangerous especially when it has to alter our minds as we won´t remember why we actually went back, but having our minds intact while we get the younger self back, that could help us. This is just impossible though.

 last year  

The idea of not having the same memories I have in the present implies that I would make the same mistakes I did the first time. Of what purpose would that be in the end? I'd rather save all that energy and make my present better to build a better future.

Thank you for coming around, Princess.

 last year  

Omo!
Only God knows how many ladies you served hot breakfasts🤣

 last year  

I wasn't in the business of breaking hearts. I just didn't handle them well. 😄

 last year  

I didn't break much heart but I did and I use to draw as a kid, I get paid by my classmates for drawing but I slowly lost passion for it as I grew.

You made a valid point about time traveling, it is either you get younger if you go back in time or get older if you go to the future.

I am wondering what it would mean if someone who won't see past 2050 chooses to travel to 2051, as an expert in that field you should be able to explain this.

I don't buy the idea of time travel, I love life as it is and I believe that the path I want to go and walk on after changing the past might be more difficult.

 last year  

See you looting your classmates. 😄

I guess we are the same with letting out passion for drawing fade. It is well.

Technically, if a person is to die in 2050, they can still time travel to the future in 2051. They would only find that they had been dead for a year (and buried, maybe), but they would still be able to exist in 2071 or any time after their death.

Changing the past could make the present better than it is, but it can also make it way worse. I'd rather stick with what I know now.

I like the idea of time travel. The past has already been written and can't be altered but the future holds many possibilities that I'm keen on exploring. For me, if I could go back in time to a younger me, I'll fiercely chase after my dreams and make them a reality much sooner.

 last year  

Since we really cannot go back in time, it's most advisable to make the most out of what we see and have now and create a much better future for ourselves.

I'm glad you see it in this light.

Yes, indeed. I think that's the way to go about with these things.

 last year  

Olujay, what did you do to those girls? Jesus Christ 😅

I support you doing music and taking it more seriously, you have a knack for it. But I am sure your course of study is what stands in your way or you probably arent seeing a future in music

 last year  

I was still a good boy. Don't worry too much. 😁

I do love music. Very much! The sound of the guitar gets me amped! I can't regain lost time anyway, so I will just keep doing my best to keep exploring. School did get in the way.

 last year  

Okay, now, my heart is at rest. no worrying ..lol

so, you won't ever put a pause on your life and pursue music?

 last year  

What a deeper thought you expressed here. Actually going back in time without your state of mind ATM wouldn't make any much difference because you may also be limited in thought regarding your age... however, amending the way you handled relationship then is a nice thought and I will tell you that you can still fix things now. And for your music, I wished you explored more at younger age... nevertheless, forging ahead is the goal

 last year (edited) 

Well, there is no regaining lost time in the real sense. And, since I cannot reduce my age and do the things I wish, I can only just do better from now. I can still keep learning music. It's up to me in the end.

Thank you for coming around, Sweet Nkem.

 last year  

Wow! I really like your train of thought. Definitely going back in time without your mind as it is now would certainly not make a difference, since you might end up not changing anything and make the same choices all over again.

 last year  

Exactly my point! It's like reliving your mistakes all over again. What's the purpose in that? I'd rather stick with how far I have come.

Yay! 🤗
Your content has been boosted with Ecency Points, by @olujay.
Use Ecency daily to boost your growth on platform!

Support Ecency
Vote for new Proposal
Delegate HP and earn more

Congratulations @olujay! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)

You made more than 4500 comments.
Your next target is to reach 5000 comments.

You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

Check out our last posts:

The Hive Gamification Proposal