You only live once. This catchphrase (also known as ‘YOLO’) has been a popular
term for a while, referring to the ‘carpe diem’ motif, encouraging you to go out
and enjoy what you can. Because this term eventually turned out to condone
reckless actions, it has constantly received criticisms. I however would like to twist
the meaning a little bit for what I have to say: something I wish I had realized
earlier. Indeed, I would like to suggest a new definition for ‘YOLO’: you only live
out your life once, so be sure to try making the most out of the opportunities that
were given. Hence, no regrets or none of any lingering attachments to the road
not taken. Keeping this in mind will be a great asset throughout your life, leading
you to success or achievements more likely than you imagine. This lesson has
sunk in as I faced failures after failures and as more and more regrets have
accumulated. By living according to my revised definition of ‘YOLO,’ you might
actually end up with more successes, less failures and on top of that, less regrets.
Here are some more specific examples of my own.
Let me start with my personal anecdote. After I had just graduated from high
school, I lived a very monotonous life: I went to the university, studied hard and
hung out with my friends. Nothing special, and nothing new or exciting. At that
time, the thought of getting involved in various activities never came across my
mind. My mind was rather fixated on passing an exam right after my graduation;
thus I merely believed that graduation itself was all that mattered to me.
Maintaining such a narrow-minded perspective, after a few years I did graduate
summa cum laude, but that was it. Five years of my undergraduate life has ended
with no particular extracurricular activities or experiences. With my dream of
passing an examination and getting a job coming to naught, I was suddenly at
loss. Not having a plan B and regretting that I have never considered of living a
more adventurous life in my early twenties, I underwent several trials and errors.
This, in other words, made me experience more failures in the way.
Being narrow-minded, lacking diverse life experiences and not having a plan B all
eventually came to me as a shock. As I was undergoing trials and errors, I realized
that these are sorts of experiences that would someday become my assets.
Struggling to find out what it is that I truly want and who I wish to become, this
process was a mandatory. I had no other choice but to regret not going through
this process while I was younger. That would have helped me to broaden my
perspectives as well as to give me a chance to be a more experienced, competent
and confident person. So never hesitate to try new things, meet new people or go
to new places! Enrich your scope of experiences by traveling to other countries,
participating in different activities and projects, sometimes even get part-time or
full-time jobs and get immersed in different genres of books. Each and every one
of the efforts you make will shape who you are and you will discover yourself
growing up day after day.
Enjoy every moment as each page of your life unfolds. One thing that you may
neglect when you are young is the influential power each and every one of these
instances. As Steve Jobs once said in his commencement address at Stanford
University in 2005, this is about ‘connecting the dots.’ We never know what life has
for us. Some things go as we planned, but others do not. We might encounter
failures in the most unexpected moment. Living an adventurous life – in a good
way – will help you be more qualified for a brighter future. It may bring you a step
closer to success. So stay more open-minded, never fear the ventures nor the
consequences those ventures will bring for none of those accumulated experiences
will harm you.