Recently, Facebook had the bright idea of showing me memories from over 10 years ago. The moment I saw the picture, I mentally placed myself back to that time period. I smiled reminiscing on the good times, but quickly shifted into a bitterness over the regretful moments.
Would life be easier today if I recognized my worth back then?
Would I have avoided such an intense healing process if I had learned how to express my emotions early?
As I reflected on how some of these choices affected my adult life, I paused briefly to gain perspective. Then I remembered a quote from my book Destined for Greatness: 90 Days of Transformational Affirmation.
“I cannot reset the past, so I will reframe my now so I can reclaim my future.”
A journey is not a journey if it doesn’t contain both ups and downs. Progress is the result of not only our successes, but also our mistakes.
Through our mistakes, we learn what does and doesn’t work.
Do you know the number of rough drafts it took to get to the final copy of the book?
How many rewrites of the script before it made it to television?
How much pilot testing it took before the official rollout of the product?
In other words, forgive yourself for not being perfect! Yes, my limiting beliefs and lack of self esteem caused me to endure some tough times throughout life.
However, it took going through these times of struggle for me to finally discover my strength. My ability to empathize and speak encouraging words to the hopeless. My ability to bring out the best in people.
What if I hadn’t gone through everything? Would I be a highly requested speaker in various environments? Would I have released my own book? Probably not!
If Facebook happens to replay those crucial moments in your life, don’t ruminate on the regret you feel about your decisions. Relish in the resilience and wisdom you developed by overcoming your consequences.
