In my last post, we started exploring your past and categorizing it by time frame. You should have taken the good, the bad and the ugly and created a list of highs and lows in your life.
Did you do that?
Good!
Now what you want to do is take some time and meditate on what you see. What you are looking for are the experiences that define who you are now.
Here are a few of personal examples:
- Happy memories as a child surrounding the Christmas holiday.
- The loss of my grandpa.
- Moved a lot as a child.
- Drinking and smoking developed in my teens.
- Weight became an issue in my teens.
That was just a few. There was a lot more once I sat down and started penciling them down.
How do these simple examples translate now? How have they defined me to this point?
- I really love Christmas! It’s my favorite time of year. I get very nostalgic and really remember a more simple and pure time in my life.
- My grandpa was a great example of unconditional love early in life. When I lost him, I felt that I lost that love. I acted out to gain that attention back. This trait lasted for years.
- Moving to most would be a negative. But for me, it creates the desire to explore and see something new. I love to travel…
- Drinking and smoking early caused me to be very distrusting of my kids growing up. Just because I was such a punk didn’t mean that they were. It was also the beginning of a self-destructive path to addiction.
- Weight defined my insecurity in life. But losing 120 lbs. later in life has become one of my greater accomplishments.
How you look at your past experiences defines how you act now. It’s up to you to determine if they will affect you in a positive or negative light.
If I had never gotten to 317 lbs I would have never had the challenge to lose the weight and overcome my physical limitations. I’ve also developed a soft spot for those who are where I was. Being obese isn’t easy on you physically or mentally.
Losing my grandpa hurt. Dealt with it for many years. I’ve learned after all these years that I should take no one for granted. That everyday is a gift. And I’ve learned that it’s ok to forgive yourself.
I could have easily taken the “Woe is me” approach to all of these things and just settled in to a fat, smoke-filled life full of regrets and bad memories.
But I’m choosing differently.
And I hope you are too.
If you are like me, reviewing your past created some feelings of regret..
Next post: Forgiveness.
~Uppie
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