What’s one thing you wish you had started doing earlier in life?

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Hello dear friends,

I hope this Blog finds you in a cheerful mood.

Today’s writing prompt question is very interesting: “What’s one thing you wish you had started doing earlier in life?”

It sounds like a simple question, but the more I think about it, the deeper it becomes.

If someone had asked me this question when I was young, I might have answered, “I wish I had started saving earlier,” or “I wish I had travelled more.”

Today, my answer is different.

I wish I had started listening to myself earlier.

❤️We Learn to Listen to Everyone Except Ourselves

From childhood, we are taught to listen—to parents, teachers, relatives, friends, bosses and society.

We are constantly reminded:

• What will people say?
• What will they think?
• Is this the right age?
• Is this practical?
• Will you succeed?

Slowly, we become experts at understanding everyone else’s expectations while forgetting our own inner voice.

As the saying goes:

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”

Perhaps the greatest challenge in life is not becoming successful in the eyes of others, but discovering what truly makes us feel alive.

❤️I Wish I Had Started Creating Earlier

Looking back, I realise that creativity was always somewhere inside me.

I enjoyed writing. I liked drawing. I loved observing people, places and small moments of life. I had stories in my mind and colours in my imagination.

But life was busy.

There was a career to build, responsibilities to fulfil, family to look after and countless practical matters demanding attention.

Like many people, I kept telling myself:

“I will do it someday.”

The trouble with “someday” is that it has no date on the calendar.

After retirement, I finally understood that creativity does not need permission.

I began writing blogs, poems and stories. I started painting and sketching. I experimented with videos and photography.

And something wonderful happened.

I discovered a part of myself that had been patiently waiting for years.

❤️Retirement Taught Me an Important Lesson

Retirement is often described as the end of working life.

I see it differently.

Retirement is the beginning of a life where we finally have more freedom to choose what deserves our time.

The office timetable disappears, but another timetable can begin—the timetable of our own dreams.

A retired person may have fewer professional responsibilities, but that does not mean he or she has fewer possibilities.

There can be books to read, paintings to create, songs to learn, places to explore, people to meet and thoughts to share.

As George Eliot beautifully said:

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

Those words become more meaningful as we grow older.

❤️Start Before You Are Ready

Perhaps we should not wait for retirement to begin living creatively.

• Don’t wait for the perfect time.
• Don’t wait until the children settle down.
• Don’t wait until you have enough money.
• Don’t wait until everyone approves.

And most importantly, don’t wait until you become old enough to regret not beginning.

• Start small.
• Write one page.
• Walk one extra mile.
• Learn an instrument.
• Pick up a paintbrush.
• Take photographs.
• Plant something.
• Call an old friend.
• Read that book.
• Travel to that place.

Do something simply because it makes your heart smile.

❤️The Past Cannot Be Rewritten, But the Future Can

Do I regret not starting earlier?

Perhaps a little.

But regret should not become a permanent resident in our minds.

The past has already happened. We cannot go back and give our younger selves another opportunity.

But we can give our present selves a new beginning.

That, perhaps, is the real beauty of growing older.

We become less interested in impressing people and more interested in expressing ourselves.

We begin to understand that life is not measured only by promotions, possessions or achievements.

It is also measured by moments of joy, relationships, experiences, creativity and the courage to remain curious.

So, if you ask me today, “What’s one thing you wish you had started doing earlier in life?”

My answer would be:

I wish I had started listening to my inner voice earlier—and given myself permission to follow it.

But I also know something else.

It is not too late.

Perhaps the best day to begin was yesterday.

The next best day is today.

Because life doesn’t ask us how late we started.

It asks us:

“What will you do with the time you still have?”

BE HAPPY… BE ACTIVE… BE FOCUSED… BE ALIVE

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Categories: infotainment

Tags: #Life, #Love, #mental health, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2890, healing, writing