I was casually visiting about the weather with several friends. Each of us described an incident this winter when we had fallen on ice. One of the women remarked, “If only we could have 10 seconds back to have done something different to prevent the fall.” That comment got me thinking hypothetically about what I would do if I had 10 seconds back in my life on different occasions.
In the past month of March Madness, several teams would love to have had 10 seconds back. In my basketball playing days, I might have wished for that once or twice, but it makes no difference today. I am thinking about what I can do in the future to use 10 seconds to greater health and happiness.
Getting 10 seconds back is not possible. Thus, I contemplate how I can live so I don’t regret a passage of 10 seconds. If I took 10 more seconds from time to time, I could initiate something that I had hesitated, overlooked, or neglected: a positive comment to a friend, a hug, a note of encouragement. Similarly, I have said some things to people that I probably should not have said. Having 10 more seconds to stop and think might have prevented a hurtful or uncomfortable situation.
One of the reasons that I prefer to write rather than speak at times is because writing gives me the opportunity to pause for 10 seconds, or more, and reflect. I learned years ago that when I receive an email that is disturbing, I should let it sit for a bit before I fire off a response. With 10 seconds or more, I can craft a response that is diplomatic and not regrettable.
I can’t get 10 seconds back, but I can be mindful of what 10 seconds might mean. I found Cheryl Strayed’s (author of Wild) reflection as worthy of consideration: “But if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t do a single thing differently. What if all those things I did were the things that got me here?”
Regardless, I wish I had not fallen on the ice. I wish I had responded to someone in a different way. Coulda, shoulda, woulda! I hope I can learn from using every 10 seconds better in the future.