These excursions into the past to pass judgment on prior events are not limited to choices the individual makes. We tend to use this strategy in our following of various sports and their teams. After an individual play or an entire game, the conversation among the fans always includes some one saying what could have been done to change the outcome. Whenever we are given a choice it sets the stage for the possibility of being right or wrong. The implication was that I should be sure before I made the decision.
Young ears take that as a strong lesson to learn.
Don't make a decision unless you know that it is the right one or you will suffer the consequences. One of the protective reactions I have seen to the fear of making a wrong choice is to ask others what they think. As long as I carry around the fear of making a wrong choice, I will be vulnerable to all sorts of things what will add to the difficulties of living life. I will be afraid of making decisions and will be vulnerable to letting others make them for me. This creates a dependency that, though protecting me from what I am afraid of, it makes me angry that I am dependent on someone else.