You can’t get back the time you spent being who others wanted. You can stop adding to it.

The time is gone, and pretending otherwise just adds regret on top of it. The account is still open, though, and most of the grief about the past comes from continuing the same habit now. Stopping does not repair the old years, and it does stop them growing.

The move is small and immediate. One thing this week decided entirely by you: what you do on Saturday, whether you go, what you say when asked your opinion. You are not undoing anything, only making the pile stop getting bigger.