I’d Rather Be A Did

There’s a poem that I remember reading as a kid from Shel Silverstein called “Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda,” and it goes like this:

All The Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
Layin’ In The Sun,
Talkin’ ‘Bout The Things
They Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda Done…
But All Those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
All Ran Away And Hid
From One Little Did.

Shel Silverstein

I’m a dreamer. I am unapologetically optimistic. I also consider myself someone who actively plans and pursues my goals for life. I have this thing about me where if I want something a certain way my first thought is,

How can I accomplish this?

I’m pretty young, all things considered, haven’t yet turned 30 and am starting to feel like I am seeing some of the fruits of my planning and some of my dreams becoming a reality. With this, I am also seeing something else. Looking back, I am seeing that there were different decisions that I could have made and have started wondering how things could have played out. For example, if I had to go back and buy the first property again, maybe I would have purchased a duplex rather than a single family home. If I went back to the start of my college days, perhaps I should have gotten a minor in business. If I was making the consistent daily sacrifices, maybe I could have had much more money saved up and invested right now.

Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda

Yes, knowing what I know now, there are probably a million different things that I “coulda” done differently. I “shoulda” been more disciplined and maybe that “woulda” meant that I would be better off right now.

If I knew back then what I know now, would I even be the same person that I am today? I actually mean that in a negative sense. If I knew then what I know now, I probably wouldn’t have made the same mistakes and learned the valuable lessons. I wouldn’t have gotten myself into the tension that causes you to grow and develop as a person.

One thing stands out over all of this, at this point in my life, I am doing more dreaming than I am reflecting, and trying not to second guess my decisions. I have an opportunity to set the expectation for myself when I look back on my life 60 years from now. 60 years from now, I don’t want to focus on the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas, I want to focus on the Dids.

I want to look back on my life and see action. I want to see myself pushing to challenge myself and to grow. I want to reflect back and focus on everything that I did, not the things I shoulda done.

I can’t go back and change anything about the last 29 years, but I can make a decision for the next 29, 39, 59…

I want my years to be marked by the Dids. So that’s exactly what I’m going to Do.