Day 227: On Being Stuck in the Past
People are all over the world telling their one dramatic story and how their life has turned into getting over this one event. Now their lives are more about the past than their future.
As a teenager, I was so insecure that I couldn’t talk with women. I was bullied (fortunately, a stronger classmate stood up for me and the bullying quickly ceased), had terrible acne (and needed to take expensive medication to get rid of it), and exuded awkwardness that could earn me the starring role in the Revenge of the Nerds.
Yet, I somehow managed to overcome all those debilitations and I turned out okay. One of the keys was not letting my dramatic story define me. Yes, I struggled with all those things and plenty more, but so did many other people — and many of them struggled with issues that make my problems look like a joke.
If you’re using a past story as an excuse for what your life is like today, ask yourself how this strategy has been serving you. Isn’t constantly looking into the past reinforcing the belief that you’re a victim? And if so, how does it affect your chances of succeeding in life?
Unless you turn the page and look to the future, you’ll be forever stuck living in the past, reliving your dramatic story and never changing your identity to create the future you desire.