Over the years I’ve met up with a lot of people who will spend an inordinate amount of time telling me about every negative thing that has occurred to them in the past. Sometimes they will repeat themselves as they forget who they have told what to.
I’ve noticed many times attempting to ask them how their past has shaped their present or how they could use what they have learned from that to make decisions for their future is often met with a puzzled look and very little response.
Some will say that what has happened in the past has decided their present and their future. They feel helpless to change it.
I get that, I really do. Many of us can.
We’ve all had tough experiences. Sometimes even horrendous experiences.
Yes, sometimes those experiences have such an impact on us they can leave us feeling unable to change anything in life.
At some point we ahve to come to the conclusion that: you can’t move forward if you’re walking backwards.
My yesterdays have shaped and formed me as I am today. They have contributed to my ideas on life. They influence how I perceive what happens in the present. Sometimes I have to be aware of those influences and challenge them to make sure I don’t end up rooted in the past.
When you live in the area I do, you hear a lot of Country & Western music over the years, willingly or otherwise. A line I remember from a song that I have no idea of the name of is, “just walk out backwards and I’ll think you’re coming in” comes to mind.
Walking out backwards into the future keeps you looking right into the past. How can anyone move forward while looking backwards. I know that isn’t what the song was about, least I think not.
We have to look forward to see where we’re going and make decisions on the path(s) we want to take. When the past negatively intrudes and tries to pull us back, it’s important to pull away, pause and make a deliberate decision that is best for you.
I don’t ignore the past, there are things there to learn from. I just have to work to make sure any hold the past has is not a death grip. It needs to be more like a hand on the shoulder reassuring me it’s okay to move forward.
It’s not always an easy process and not always successful. That’s okay, just be aware and try again. Just as often as you have to until you get to go where you want.
Are you walking backward or forward in life? Are your eyes set on yesterday or tomorrow?
Shadowspub is a writer from Ontario, Canada. She writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc.
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