V,
There's business term which defines some things as a 'sunk cost'. For example let's say that in 1984 a company purchased at great expense a factory that can only make purple widgets. The factory is now in need of repairs but the market for purple widgets has all but dried up. That factory has been the pride of the company in the past, shouldn't they spend a little more on it to keep in running at top capacity? Of course not, any prior expenditures are now a sunk cost and any further investment in the making of purple widgets is wasteful and useless. The time has come to scrap the old factory and invest wisely for the future.
V, at this point I think that when you look at your past mistakes and let those mistakes limit the future you can build, you're putting further resources into a sunk cost. Time is going to pass for all of us no matter what. If this is a career that you want, go for it....otherwise you'll look back one day and think 'if only I had.....'.
It's difficult for me sometimes to look back at pictures of me and my children from years gone by. We have lots of good memories but I look at myself in those smiling pictures and know that I was not 100% there for my family for a long time. It's heart wrenching, and it's also a sunk cost. Other than perhaps helping me to keep my focus, I am really making an effort to leave the negative behind.
I'm not going to limit or define my future by the significance of my past mistakes and I encourage you to get excited about the possibilities! I'm pumped about the future! Nothing changes if nothing changes right?
Conquest, I would enjoy a little beach therapy myself right about now!