When does the phrase: "well, that was many years ago", really make you feel less responsible for the choices you have made?

never…because that’s usually, for me anyway, followed up by ’...but that’s no excuse’

When I realize how much I’ve changed, the lessons I’ve learned, and that the likelihood of me repeating the same actions are very small. I try not to beat myself up for choices I made before I knew better.

No, not really. It should, however, remind you that regret is a useless emotion.

You cannot change the decisions you have already made. You can only learn from their consequences.

You need to focus your thoughts, time, emotions, and energy in the present.

The choices you make (good or bad) shape who you are as an individual! I’ll always feel responsible for my choices no matter how long ago they were, because they affected someone, even if it was just me!

it doesn’t take away responsibility in any situation, but it does imply that you would not make that choice again.

I’m not sure I’m any less responsible, but there’s nothing that can be done about it now. Maybe I tried to make up for it at the time, or smooth it over, or run away from it. Now, people probably have forgotten it. I know I have. Doesn’t matter whether I did it or it was done to me. People change, and it’s hard to hold the person in front of you responsible for what they did many years ago. They aren’t really the same person any more.