#104: Mark Twain

What is your favorite quotation and why? (Princeton)

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds on your sail.

-Mark Twain

Life is full of making choices. The choices you make can determine so much. It can determine the course of your life, and even the lives of others. Choices are therefore, a blessing and a curse. Decision making is easy and a blessing when you know exactly what you’re going to choose, or if you’ve never been given more than one option before, but when you’re not sure of what you’re going to choose or how a situation will turn out, the choices can become curses.

When given a choice, I mostly pick the safer option. From my choice making, I’ve learnt that safer doesn’t always mean fun or worthwhile, and I can’t really learn much from safe most of the time. My experiences, mishaps, and mistakes can help me make choices in the future too. Mark Twain’s quotation is similar to the advice I’ve heard from a few grown-ups. In avoiding the risk, I might be more disappointed by the things I didn’t do. It would be hard to live with the feeling of having missed out on a great experience, and to prevent such feelings, sometimes, we might have to “sail away from the safe harbor”, and go out and do everything you can.

The quotation not only gives me advice, but it gives me an alternative to life. It seems to show the brighter and livelier side of life, where there are new things to discover and more adventures to live. I’ve always liked the idea of living life adventurously, and even the Disney movie Up says that “Adventure is out there!” I really like Up, and the movie even ends with a happy ending! The old man realizes that it is more fun to be doing something rather than doing nothing at all. He goes on a dangerous adventure, learns new things and comes back happy. A life like that doesn’t sound too bad for me.

When I think about it, I know that Mark Twain is right. I don’t want to regret not doing something rather than regretting doing something. I’d rather do something and then know its outcome rather than staying safe and wondering, “How would it have turned out if I’d done it differently.” Even bad outcomes can teach me lessons and show my mistakes. I know the risks and dangers that are attached to every decision I make, but maybe, the things I do to avoid the risk could turn out to be the biggest risk of all, and I would find it hard knowing that for the rest of my life. Mark Twain’s words have inspired me to try, and to throw of my bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, and catch the trade winds in my sail.