I think you will find that it is not what you did, but THAT you did that will make a difference to you when you are 75. Life is about playing and winning games, posing and solving problems, and the momentary contemplation of such success upon attainment. Without knowing anything about you specifically, I can say without reservation that a flight student who is working through the ratings towards the derivation of pleasure, as he sees it, in the attainment of a flying job is much happier than he'll be when he arrives. In this last statement, one can substitute most any activity in the place of "working through the ratings" and see the exact same results.

I have come to the realization in recent times that the best things in life have nothing to do with aviation, per se. This doesn't mean to avoid it, because aviation as an activity is as worthy a pursuit as any other. However, regardless of the game being played, one must continue to play the game to keep smiling. For the desire to win and the working to attain victory is more noble than the contemplation of victory after the game is won. More clearly, that you picked a game to play in life (i.e. a career, among many others - family, etc) and played it well, surmounted obstacles, saw new problems, and worked through them, is what, in the end, will see you to be smiling as you depart this world.