Stop Worrying About Where You’ve Been and Focus on Where You’re Going

Are you keeping your eyes on the road ahead, or do you spend most of your time looking in the rear-view mirror?

I’m sure you’re not doing this on a real drive in a real car. You know what happens then: You get so distracted you steer the car off the road or into an oncoming vehicle.

But do you realize you can do just as much damage to your inner self if you spend too much time looking back at your past?

There’s nothing you can do about the past. It’s gone. It’s done. You can’t change it. And would you really want to?

There Is No Time Machine (and It Won’t Help You Anyway)

A few times when I made big, life-changing mistakes, I wished for a time machine so I could go back and change the decision that caused it. But what if I had gone back to when I decided to get married and stopped myself from entering into one of the worst long-term relationships of my life?

I never would have had Emerson, the light of my life. Who knows what else I might have missed?

Besides, the conditions that caused me to make the wrong decisions probably would still exist, and I’d just make the same mistakes. If I actually made what I thought was a better decision, it could be even worse.

Eyes on the Road

It’s good to look back and examine the past, so you don’t cruise into the same old dead ends and get stuck again. But you must treat your history the way you were taught to use the rear-view mirror when learning to drive. First, take a quick, split-second glance to make sure nothing hazardous is coming up behind you; then, shift back to the front windshield and stay attentive to the road ahead. Glance quickly at the other people and things in your life so you’re aware of them, but return your attention to your journey.

And remember that, as the passenger side mirror says, objects may be closer than they appear. What you think you see in the mirror may not even be what’s really there.

Focusing on the past does nothing to get you closer to your destination; it can actually slow down or completely stop your progress. Keep an eye on the path that brought you here, but keep your true vision focused ahead.

Adjust Your Mirrors

Are you road-ready? Set your course with the Passion Test, to identify what matters most to you and engage your drive to succeed. Take your free Passion test assessment and get ready to hit the road.