Would You Change Your Past Or Adjust Your Present?

You know how people always say if I could go back, I would do X, Y & X differently? I asked a few friends what are two things they would change in their personal life and career. A lot of the answers referencing the career aspect of their lives, centered around either finishing college or taking the next step in furthering their education. 

In the personal space, it varied a little. For example, some of the feedback I got was expressing themselves more and having more fun with dating. Some said they wish they would have communicated certain things more to loved ones and to have spent more time with friends before life and adulting took over. Another said to just live in the moment more and not always anticipate the next step in life, but to enjoy where they are now. All great answers.

For me, my career change would have been to take more marketing internships while in undergrad so I would have known what route to take after graduating. My personal would have been upfront communication and to express myself in a better way.

When thinking about questions like this, it makes you reflect on your past and your present. At least that was the case for me. I will say, even though I wish I could go back and add those "adjustments", I also wouldn’t have changed a single thing. Sounds contradicting, but it’s true. I ended up holding various marketing roles when I graduated, and I gained a lot of experience that I probably wouldn’t have gotten from internships.

We have a lot of down time right now with the stay at home mandate so it gives us time to work on those "adjustments" that a lot of us wish we would have done in the past. If going to school or furthering your education was one, look into some online courses. A friend of mine reminded me that I could be taking a lot of classes right now to brush up on my skills and yes, there are a lot of free ones out there! (Here are some: HubSpot Academy , Udemy , Code Academy)

We can always better ourselves. Whether learning a new skill like the piano if you’re in the music industry or taking an analytical course if you’re a business exec. Even a photography class for those in the lifestyle space is always a good idea. It’s always something we can be doing. I have a few marketing and writing courses coming up in the next few weeks. So I guess my question for you is are you going to adjust accordingly or stay stagnant?