Some time ago, my wife and I ran in a 10k race. And while I was running in that race, I remember running one mile, and felt a little winded. I made it to the second-mile mark, and I was even more tired. When I made it past the third, and then to the fourth mile, I was literally struggling to keep my legs moving. And something began to happen. I began to think about all of the people I had passed up, all of the miles I had already run, and I began to feel good about myself.
I thought about the fact that I had made it 4 miles, a feat that most people could not face. Even though I had about 2 more miles to go, I began to lose motivation. Why? The more I began to think about what I had already accomplished, the less motivated I became to keep moving forward.
In your own race to your dreams, are there any things in your past that are causing you to become complacent? Is there anything in your past that is causing you to be stagnant? Are there any accomplishments, mistakes, awards, or accolades that are limiting your potential? Do you come from a pretty good family? Did you attend some of the finest schools? Maybe you live in an exclusive neighborhood, or live in a very nice house. May I submit to you that you need to stop letting those things of your past negatively influence your present?
Why? Because the more you find gratification and satisfaction in your past accomplishments, the less motivated you will be to press forward to newer, and dare I say, greater things.
That’s what the word “forget” means. After listing out several of his own accomplishments, o
ne of my role models once said, “This one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind, I press forward to the mark...”
To “forget” does not mean that we are to force ourselves to have some kind of amnesia or senility about things in our past. While there are some people who seem to have the gift of selective memory, that’s not what it really means to “forget.” To “forget” means to refuse to let things that happened to you in the past prevent you from living abundantly in the present.
Also, to “forget” is not just a one-time deal. Rather, it is something that you have to keep doing over and over again, because there are several things that happened to you in your past, good and bad, that keep being replayed in your brain, stifling your possibilities, and keeping you from being better than you were yesterday.What do you need to keep “forgetting” about in your own past? What memory, experience, triumph, or tragedy do you need to release?
Your history was merely preparation for something greater. Don’t live in it, learn from it, and move on.
From Take Matters Into Your Own Hands: Dream Now! by Manuel Scott.
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