Weekend Words – Back to the Future

In life we are constantly told to move forward and never look back. I even wrote about this in one of my Weekend Words, where I discussed my friend’s attitude of “LMO” – “let’s move on.” I still believe that obsessing over the past is not helpful. But a glance back at the past every now and then can provide insight and perspective for where we are in life today.

A friend of mine, Dorothy, told me the other day that she has saved every pay stub she has ever earned, since her first job. I laughed and asked her why she had done that. She replied that sometimes when she gets upset about her current situation, she’ll look back at some of her early pay stubs and see how small those checks were. Then she thinks about the fact that she was raising three children as a single mom on that tiny salary. Suddenly, her current situation looks pretty good. And thinking about what it took to be a good mom to her kids back then reminds her that she has the courage and determination in her to handle her current situation. Incidentally, Dorothy’s youngest child just finished college this year. All of her kids have at least a bachelor’s degree, and Dorothy is working on earning her PhD.

Another friend of mine told me when she’s hardest hit in life she looks back to her divorce from her first husband. She thinks of the pain and suffering involved in that dark period. She uses these glances back into her past as a way to strengthen herself by remembering that she got through it. And as dark as her current situation may be, it isn’t darker than it was during her divorce. If she got through the divorce, she can get through anything.

My daughter Grace received a number of awards in middle school, mostly for her academic achievements. She hung them all over her room, covering a good portion of several walls. I asked her once why she did this. She said, “It reminds me of who I am.”

Once again, I don’t subscribe to living in the past. But they say hindsight is 20/20, and I think we should occasionally take advantage of that. A glance back to our pasts can remind us of previous mistakes, but it can also help us avoid repeating those mistakes. And remembering how we overcame life’s earlier trials can give us the strength to triumph in today’s battles.

Have a great weekend,

Ro