Worry vs Reflection

WORRY vs REFLECTION

 

So many thought leaders counsel us to avoid living in the past. “Living in the now”, they advise. “Enjoy the moment”. “The past is a grave”. Well, I get what they are saying. But isn’t there something good about going back and delighting in the delicious moments of the journey so far? And in the learnings from all we’ve experience?

Which brings me to worry vs reflection. Whether you should revisit the past, to my mind, depends on your intention. If your intention is and reason for going back into your past is to dwell on bad experiences and to worry over things you cannot change and rehash painful times, then I suggest it’s an unhealthy act (a complete waste of time, actually; just keeps you stuck). But, if your intention is to reflect on the lessons that events have taught you and to grow in wisdom and to savor the precious memories that you were blessed enough to experience, well, then I think that’s a good thing. Because you are letting your past serve you. And make you better.

I guess what I’m inviting you to consider is that it’s a waste of time to fret over and regret things you’ve done that cannot be changed. But it’s an intelligent use of time to bask in the good times, feel gratitude for them and use even the challenging times of your personal history to leverage your future success.

“But isn’t there something good about going back and delighting in the delicious moments of the journey so far? And in learning from all we’ve experienced?”