You Only Get This One Life

Where we’re going, we won’t need saves

Photo by Andrik Langfield on Unsplash

What if you could go back in time?

What would you do with your new superpower?

• Have you messed things up with the love of your life?

• Did you miss out on buying Bitcoin/Apple/Nvidia at its infancy?

It would be as comforting as a toddler’s security blanket to possess the ability to take a snapshot of your life and when faced with difficult or embarrassing moments, go back to that point.

Espresso + Martini = Disaster

At my company’s holiday party, I chatted with a coworker while nursing a bottle of beer. She wore a fashionable red top, white pants, and black heels. Normally, I don’t pay a ton of attention to what anyone is wearing, but her outfit would be ingrained in my memory over the next few minutes.

We were discussing the types of martini available at the open bar and, out of a deeper curiosity, if it would be possible to smuggle in an espresso as a key ingredient for a (you got it) espresso martini.

Just then, a waiter came around with a plate of shrimp. I grabbed one in my free hand and attempted to stealthily have a bite. Unfortunately, I completely lost track of the open end of the bottle in my other hand. I entered a painful reality as she quickly let me know that my bubbly libations were now all over her pant leg and shoes.

I wish I could have wiped away my embarrassment as easily as I had wiped the spilled beer from the floor.

Menu Screen → Load Last Auto Save

If this had been a video game of my life, I could undo this moment like it had never happened. I could safely be back at the start of the evening or heck, even at the point where the waiter came around. A simple “no thank you” would’ve opened a new alternate reality where every drop of beer would be safely stored in that bottle.

Save Scumming

My earliest memory of being able to store and go back to a point in time in a game was in Mega Man on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This was an archaic system where a grid of icons had to be entered correctly to load where you last left off. Not every game had this, at least in their original, non-emulated releases. This was the case in games like Super Mario Bros. where the entire game needed to be played in one sitting.

The mechanics to save and load have come a far way since the 90s. So much so that there is a faction of gamers that believe that the overuse of these mechanics is “scummy” behavior and takes away from the spirit and intent of the game being played.

The phrase “save scumming” comes from the rogue-like community. These types of games are meant to be difficult. Losing is part of the process of “gitting gud” and improving your skills to the point where saves are not needed.

I believe, however, that save scumming allows you to get the best possible ending in a game. You can even reload a save point before a particularly gnarly choice and experience all endings of a game.

It’s your game and your time invested; play it how you want.

Back to Reality

Pick your favorite film where time-travel is a primary plot device.

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Adventure

Bill & Ted Face the Music

Maybe not what you were thinking (hey, we’re different people from potentially different generations), but whichever film you had in mind, you know that going back in time comes with its own, hairier challenges.

Unless [insert your personal least-hated tech billionaire] figures out time-travel IRL, I’m afraid you’re stuck with the life you have, complete with all the disappointments your time on earth has allotted to you.

Terrific news though. You are the person you are today because of the moments you wish you could rewind.

You weren’t able to repair your relationship with your ex?

BUT you ended up with someone you love way more. OR you’re free to meet your soulmate.

You didn’t buy Bitcoin when it launched for a nickel a coin?

Neither did I, but like me, you’re probably now open to other alternative “investments”. OR you buy that coin or stock you’ve been eyeing, commit to holding it for the long run, and don’t miss out on the future upside.

You spilled beer on a coworker and are eternally doomed until the end of your days to relive that moment whenever your dumb brain decides it would be the most inconvenient time to do so? Say at your kid’s graduation? Or maybe in the middle of an important certification exam? (Again, just me? FINE.)

Iron Man Mode

Until we each get our own time travel devices, here are my suggestions to living the life you’ve got.

1. Make the best choices you can with the knowledge that you have today. Occasionally, that might mean you need to stop putting off a decision and go with your gut.

2. Arm yourself with knowledge. Still not ready to make your move? Do your research. Hire a coach (or a therapist).

3. Put it into practice. Don’t just listen to what other people tell you. You’ve got to get in the driver’s seat of your life and act.

4. Live your life with no regrets. We don’t get do-overs so stop acting like it.

5. Apologize (for the 5th time) to your coworker. Or pour your beer into an adult sippy cup.

You Got This

You’re going to live an amazing, horrible, fantastic, the absolute worst, the absolute best life.

Going through life without a safety net is the forcing function to learn and not repeat your previous mistakes.

I’m still going through my allotted-at-birth-share of sh!t as I’m sure you are. But that is what makes you human and life worth living.

So this holiday season, live the life you’ve got… and stay away from crustaceous hors d'oeuvres.

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Here’s my 𝕏 post of the week.