1. Playing fewer video games in university, and focusing more on studying so that I didn't fail my final year. I started university three years early, which has opened doors, but having a degree would have opened more. Also, paying more attention to electromagnetics and thermodynamics.
2. Continuing to train for Tennis. You really can get too old to do this at an elite level. I love training, and I love being in the zone: perceiving / acting / crushing the opposition. Sport is a natural fit for my attention, physicality, and aggression, whereas long-term projects are more of an uphill battle.
3. More travel, although I'm not really that interested in individual people, so perhaps it would have been wasted. To the extent that I'm interested in other people now, it's to figure out what they know that I don't know and how they acquired that knowledge or experience.
Don't get me wrong. My life is pretty sweet, but I do have regrets. It's more that I'm realizing the difference between turning 30 and turning 40. At 30 you can pretty much do everything you could do in your twenties. At 40, doors are closing, esp. regarding physical injuries and recuperation.
I just kind of always assumed that I'd have a PhD by 25, be a concert pianist, a professional tennis player, and a software millionaire. I've had brushes with each, but so far no completion. Boo fucking hoo, right? Unrealistic expectations.
Thanks so much for sharing. At 25, I've been feeling a teeny tiny version of that (I had a lot of free time in my teenage years that I frittered away, and wish I had spent it developing skills). But I realize that 10, 20 years from now I'm going to look at today the same way, too.
I was a provincially-ranked tennis player as a teenager. But yeah, definitely regret not going further with that while I was young. Had a stroke last year. It was pretty hard realizing that after a certain point, no you really can't be an elite athlete.
There's something that happens to a man when he's 25. When you're 24, you still have time to go to Tibet for 10 years. To get superfit. To master multiple martial arts; jejetsu, karate, krav maga; and to return.. as The Batman.
It's not about being elite. I know a ton of guys in the bodybuilding community, and they basically say "if I don't think I'm going to WIN, I'm not even going to start."
So now it's been three years since they've stepped on the stage. That's a ton of wasted time for a "bodybuilder".
I don't get that way of thinking.
When I compete in sports, I compete to have fun, make friends, and compete to NOT GET LAST PLACE. This isn't my passion, it's my fun man-outlet. Let the maniacs have first place.
> It's not about being elite. I know a ton of guys in the bodybuilding community, and they basically say "if I don't think I'm going to WIN, I'm not even going to start."
Yeah, this is a trap. I actually enjoy the training, as long as I'm seeing some progress.
> When I compete in sports, I compete to have fun, make friends, and compete to NOT GET LAST PLACE.
I'm not interested in the social aspect at all, for better or worse. In part this is because I've seen social / club players fail to improve because of bad habits they pick up and reinforce during social play. My parents spent a bunch of money on training, but I also picked up a lot of bad habits due to incorrect technique from parental coaching.
I should say that for me the sweetest moment is after hitting an ace, a winner, or running down a ball I didn't think I could get. It's not necessarily about the win, but about the perfect shot, the sweet feeling of it, the sound of it, the smell of the ball, etc. So, that's definitely something I can still enjoy.
I spent some time this fall solo-practicing against a ball-machine and watching Roger Federer videos on Youtube. My backhand is better than it's been at any point in my development.
I think it's important to aim for excellence, not just competence, because I see many players' development limited by basically not taking the sport seriously.
But of course, what ever makes you happy. My cruel task-master is that excellence makes me happy.
So overall, very positive. The core of the regret is more like -- huh, if I had realized how to study / train systematically ten-twenty years ago I could be on a different trajectory.
I've loved video games since I was about 7. I've made a good living off of video games.
In my thirties, I never once thought "Man, I wish I'd spent more time playing video games in my twenties."
Now, as I turn 40, I wonder how different my life would have been if I'd spent more time doing other things, instead of playing video games.
The process of aging is impossible to convey fully, but it's fascinating to be on the other side, having lived the transition.