Without my mistakes I wouldn't be who I am or be where I am. I could have taken better decisions? yes Could my life be different? yes Is it pointless to check life in retrospective like that other than to gain focus on how to drive your life forward? YES
Yeah, this pretty much. Even my transgressions like porn led me to a more spiritual life. And while porn, smoking, heavier drinking than I'd like, and meaningless sex made my life worse while I was doing them, they didn't destroy my life like with some people. I never lost big chunks of my life due to addiction or jail.
It always comes down to the paradox:" If I only knew then, what I know now" Sadly, this is not possible. Would you truly be the same person as you are today, had you not gone through the experiences you've gone through?