it's better to regret...
Something someone posted on ONTD struck me enough that i need to record it here before i go to work.
They said when someone says they'll regret not having kids, their response is that it's better to regret not having kids than to regret having them.
This flips the traditional wisdom of it's better to regret something you did do than to regret something you didn't on its head. But, also, i love it!
The implication is that if you're deciding what to do with your life, taking the risk on something new is always gonna be worth it. Worst case you come out of it with a war story, a learning, some wisdom that informs the rest of your life, and you won't die wondering what if. Except! Except not if taking that path directly affects another person's life. And what has a greater effect than bringing an entirely new life into the world?
Just as it's better to not spontaneously decide it'd be fun to murder someone, it's better to not spontaneously decide to birth someone. In both cases you are following your own personal whims in a way that means a life or death outcome for somebody else, so the stakes could not be any higher. It might turn out good, or it might turn out bad, but unless you have an extremely strong conviction that it's going to turn out good, better to not go there.
There's so many other exciting and fulfilling things to do that will enrich your life.
This is such a snappy response to the tedious question we child-free people get that i feel like i need to find a good way to say it in Chinese too. More than just 無牽無掛.
They said when someone says they'll regret not having kids, their response is that it's better to regret not having kids than to regret having them.
This flips the traditional wisdom of it's better to regret something you did do than to regret something you didn't on its head. But, also, i love it!
The implication is that if you're deciding what to do with your life, taking the risk on something new is always gonna be worth it. Worst case you come out of it with a war story, a learning, some wisdom that informs the rest of your life, and you won't die wondering what if. Except! Except not if taking that path directly affects another person's life. And what has a greater effect than bringing an entirely new life into the world?
Just as it's better to not spontaneously decide it'd be fun to murder someone, it's better to not spontaneously decide to birth someone. In both cases you are following your own personal whims in a way that means a life or death outcome for somebody else, so the stakes could not be any higher. It might turn out good, or it might turn out bad, but unless you have an extremely strong conviction that it's going to turn out good, better to not go there.
There's so many other exciting and fulfilling things to do that will enrich your life.
This is such a snappy response to the tedious question we child-free people get that i feel like i need to find a good way to say it in Chinese too. More than just 無牽無掛.