Does this scenario make any sense?

[Pete Lamberty]

Is the answer to this scenario and the scenario itself a good indication as to whether a person has had an enjoyable or happy life?

Here it is,

If you could go back to the time of your birth and live your whole life over again EXACTLY as it was, you COULDN’T change anything and you WOULDN’T know you were living it over again, would you say yes I will do it over or no I wouldn’t want to do it over.

I am not especially looking for your answer to this question. I am rather asking you if the answer to this question would indicate whether the person had a happy life or not. I have brought it up to just a few people, about a dozen. Some seem to get rather agitated, won’t answer and only keep saying, “what’s the point”. When I say “well if you had a happy life I would think you would want to go back and do it over again.” They just repeat what’s the point? I then can’t really think of a better explanation.

I think it is kind of like going on a roller coaster ride and after you get off you say “ that was great! Let’s do it again.”

I guess that if your answer were to be no, then you should start living your life "somehow" differently than you have been living life. But I don't know what the "somehow" is.

I hope I have stated it well enough here. I am definitely not the best with words.

This topic seems so far off topic for a wood site that maybe Aaron should create a new forum just for it. :D

[Donnie Raines]

I hope I am answering the way that you had hope for.

I would only change one thing that has plagued my life. I have had issues with being closterphobic(fear of being in tight enclosed spaces). I went on very few family vactions, field trips or anything that required driving around with people in tight areas. I avoided these every chance I could. The last year or so has been diffrent. I visisted a doctor and got some meds and now I am almost as good as normal. I have gradually gotten back into a regular style of life.

In genera, life has been great! I was the class clown and even participated in lots of big(number of people) events. went to college and have lots of wonderful friends. my family is great........what else is there...... :)

[Pete Lamberty]

Thanks for the reply Donnie. Thats not exactly the answer I was looking for. Your answer was as if I directed the scenario to you. And you did answer it honestly and it seems that you would go back and live it over again. But most of the people I ask don't seem to agree with me that the question it self has any merit. They seem to think that it doesn't make any sense. I want to know if it does make sense. Am I not to bright for having come up with this question, or are they not to bright for not understanding it. I also have wondered if it is a defense mechanism when they say "what's the point". Maybe they don't want to admit that their own life isn't good enough to do over. What do you think? Does it make sense?

[Dennis Peacock]

That's a trick question Pete..... :confused: ;)

I would gladly go back and do it over again.....EXCEPT....I would change a couple of things....very minor...but I would want to change them. We all made mistakes growing up and in our teen years.....I would definatly be a Pro-Woodworker today if I had it to do over. :D

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Pete....the question itself does have merit but I can see where some people might not see the sense or reasoning for asking it. Some people I know might be offended thinking it was to personal a question to be asked.....

My answer to the question....Yes I'd do it again....but I'd like to make a few minor changes. When I was younger I said some very hurtful things to some friends and relatives ......today, I wished I hadn't said them. Everything else, I'd do it again in a flash.

[Steve Clardy]

I would live my life over again, but with a couple of changes if that were possible.

[Jack Hogoboom]

Pete,

For all I know, under your scenario, I already am living it all over again!! :D

Ponder that for a bit and see if it doesn't make your head hurt. :eek:

Jack

[Ed Falis]

I guess like a few, I'd prefer to change a few things, but if I had a choice to do it exactly the same again vs not having that choice, I would do it again without changes.

- Ed

[Pete Lamberty]

Sorry guys no changes allowed. You have to weigh the good and bad and figure out if it was fun enough to do over. Even though I didn't really expect you to answer what you would do, I guess I will assume that all of you feel that the question is worthy of identifying if a person feels that they lead an enjoyable life. I wonder if the question has even offended people here. Many more people have read this post than answered, but that is also true of all the other posts too. I would have hoped that they would have given their opinion as to wether the question is a good one or not.

[Allen Grimes]

Pete, to answer your question, yes. I do believe that if somebody said they would do it over again then that weould mean that they are happy with or at least mostly happy with their life. And I also believe that if somebody says no, then they are not happy.

Now I have a question for you. Obviously if you said yes, then you would be living the same life for eternity. Do you think that even if your life was good enough to live over again that knowing you would be making an eternal decision you would say yes or would you knowingly go to the next step(whatever that is)? Either way it would be new to you so what would you choose. Would you be ignorantly bliss or would you knowingly move on.

If you didn't understand that I'll try to rephrase it.

[Greg Tatum]

Yes...I would choose to do it the same.....everything that I have done in my life, whether good or bad, smart or dumb, has brought me to this very place and time and at this moment I am a happy person....great kids, wonderful wife....I'm not rich but I can order pizza and beer without checking my wallet first....a hobby that keeps me relaxed and that my wife approves of....all in all it's worth doing again.

Greg

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

Okay...knowing what I know now, being where I am now, and realizing that I made a few wrong turns early on that I feel essentially 'wasted' probably 25 years...no, I wouldn't do it again under your 'rules'. :(

It's a very interesting question, because a 'no' decision would theoretically impact scads of other folks as well. Children come to mind immediately. Because of that, I suppose a true 'no' answer is awfully selfish...but that's one of the problems I've always had. It may not ALL be about me, but enough of it IS about me that I've tended to tip the scales in my favor whenever possible...and not always in ways I've been proud of.

I'm at a point in my life now where I 'want' for very little materially, and what I do 'want' I can probably have...so I suppose the 'selfish' has been tempered a bit simply because it's not 'necessary' anymore. I've replaced THAT flaw with bad feelings for having been that way for so long. :(

KC

[Bob Worrel Jr.]

This is my 4th time around and they won't let me off. I'm getting dizzy.:eek:

[Frank Pellow]

Pete,

For all I know, under your scenario, I already am living it all over again!! :D

Ponder that for a bit and see if it doesn't make your head hurt. :eek:

Jack
As I was reading this, I was thinking the same thing as Jack. How would it be possible for someone to know if they were already living their life over again? And, yes I would gladly live my life over again even if I could not make the (very) few changes that I would like.

[Keith Christopher]

I wouldn't do it over again, I enjoy taking the experiences I have and growing them and knowledge of the years. I look forward to moving on in my life and the here after. Did I have a good life, sure and the events of my life shaped me the way I am and I believe I'm a pretty good person but if I went back and did it EXACTLY like I already lived it, I'd still be at the same point, I believe there is only 2 places I would have changed my life if I could, but much like that movie "Butterfly Effect" you never know what your life would have been just changing ONE thing. I'm good.

[Tyler Howell]

Hey Bring it! One more time.

I key is even with mistakes, I learned from them. Jumped up ( in many cased crawled up and stumbled a few times) to improve upon the past. We are given many chances to "do over".
I am blessed to have the life I have, and others should be so fortunate.

[Andy Henriksen]

So what is the alternative? If you say no, what happens to you in this scenario? I get assigned some random other life? I just continue from this point and get older? I die instantly as soon as I decide not to live it over? I need to know my options.
It seems there is an inherent paradox in this question, because if you started at birth with the exact same life, but didn't know you were going at it for the 2nd (or 3rd, or 245th) time, you would live it the exact same, because all the factors that determined your life would be the exact same. Right?

So yeah, this question is annoying, because there is way too much information left out of the equation.

All that being said, yeah, bring it on - it's been pretty good so far, and could have been a hell of a lot worse.

[Pete Lamberty]

I think I came up with the question as a way of wondering what should a person do "now" if they are unhappy with their own life. What could/should a person change about the way they live to make their own life a more "positive" experience? The question makes one stop and think. And if they aren't happy, this is as good a time as any to try to start putting things right. So that the rest of their own life will be enjoyable to them. But it seems we get stuck in our own behaviors.

Some of you had some questions. If you said no, you would just live out your life and die whenever your time was up. And if you said yes it would only be a one time deal. You would live your life over again and then die whenever your time was up.

So even though I asked a question that deals with the past, this whole thing really deals with the future.

My friends wonder how I come up with these unusual thoughts. It happens every once in a while. Sorry if I bored anyone. ;)