The Past Is Your Lesson
Source: Positive Outlooks
Posts tagged with “future”
You Don’t Need to Fix the Past in Order to Have a New Future
Note: The winners for this giveaway have been chosen! They are:
- Dianna
- Michael Maher
- Kathleen B
- Yusuf Stoptagginmeanyhow Sulei
- Aparna
“The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.” ~Pema Chodron
My family recently drove from Michigan to North Carolina—twenty hours roundtrip. To entertain themselves, my five-year-old daughter Willow taught my three-year-old son Miller to play rock-paper-scissors in the backseat.
Miller learned the hand signals and got the overall concept pretty quickly, but he had a hard time with the fast speed of the game. Willow narrated, “Rock-paper-scissors…go! Okay, next round!” But Miller wanted to linger.…
You Have a Choice: Your Future Can Be Better Than Your Past
“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.” ~Mary Oliver
On the January 17, 2000, I was in a car crash. I was living in France at the time. I don’t remember much about the crash. I know that we all walked out of the car relatively unscathed. Shocked, scared, and confused, yes. Injured, no.
I remember thinking that I should probably call my mum and dad back in England. Tell them what happened. What I didn’t know in that moment was that back in …
The Power of Presence : A Few Simple Ways to Enjoy Life More Now
“All that is important is this one moment in movement. Make the moment important, vital, and worth living. Do not let it slip away unnoticed and unused.” ~Martha Graham
I am someone who is always focusing on the next step rather than the step I am currently taking. I am always longing for the next thing in life.
Looking forward to the future isn’t a bad thing, but when it consumes 90% of your daily thoughts, it becomes a bit exhausting.
My energy has always been restless. I get bored easily, crave change constantly, and yearn for immediate fulfillment. At …
Stop Fearing Uncertainty & Get Excited About Possibilities
“When you become comfortable with uncertainty, infinite possibilities open up in your life.” ~Osho
Once, during an AmeriCorps leadership retreat, I was asked to create a motto for my life, a mission statement for my future. I was handed a blank piece of paper and I was terrified.
At the time, my life was filled with uncertainty. My year of national community service was coming to an end. I didn’t know what my next job would be, let alone what my life’s mission statement should be.
As I sat, panic stricken, staring into my uncertain future and an empty …
5 Things to Remember When You Start Worrying
“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.” ~Benjamin Franklin
Have you every worried yourself to the point of emotional, even physical exhaustion?
Do you often feel stuck, anxious, or mistrustful of the world around you?
I know what it’s like to feel trapped by worry—in fact, I have always been a chronic worrier.
I worried and obsessed mostly about the hypothetical, the imaginary, the infinite variety of “what-if” scenarios. Eventually, I convinced myself that if I worried about every conceivable thing that could go wrong in my life, I would either …
How To Calm Your Worries by Admitting What You Don’t Know
“Most things I worry about never happen anyway.” ~Tom Petty
There was once a wise farmer who had tended his farm for many years. One day his horse unexpectedly ran away into the mountains. Upon hearing the news, the farmer’s neighbors came to visit.
“How terrible,” they told him.
“We’ll see,” the wise farmer replied.
The next morning, to the farmer’s surprise, the horse returned, bringing with it three wild horses.
“How wonderful. You are very lucky,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“We’ll see,” replied the farmer.
The following day, the farmer’s son tried to ride one of the wild horses. The …
Overcome Limiting Thoughts: 5 Ways to Be Happier and More Present
“The past exists only in our memories, the future only in our plans. The present is our only reality.” ~Robert Pirsig
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by unpleasant thoughts and feelings? Do they show up like an uninvited guest when you’re least expecting them?
About eight months ago, I quit a lucrative corporate job in finance to follow my passion, writing.
Like most things in life, this decision came with a cost.
And all the angst that comes with it.
A few months into my venture, I noticed my angst had become a large part of my mental world. I …
How to Turn Worries About the Future Into Action Right Now
“Every day brings a choice: to practice stress or to practice peace.” ~Joan Borysenko
After years and years of living with anxiety, I can’t tell you exactly what I have been anxious about.
Is it a pervasive thought about how my life will end? Is it a constant worry about my financial security? Is it simply that I’m nervous to give a speech in front of people? Or a combination of all of them?
Even thinking about anxiety causes more anxiety. Ahhh!
Anxiety is also really hard to define. It’s so subjective.
I don’t think my anxiety will ever truly …
Find Happiness Now Instead of Chasing It in the Future
“You can only grow if you’re willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” ~Brian Tracy
I found myself at a crossroads last year. I had reached the end of my time in college, and I had no post-graduation commitments.
I was working at the time on my applications to medical school, as I have wanted to become a doctor for a long time. However, I knew that medical schools are inundated with qualified applicants every year, but only have a few seats to offer. Thus, my vision of myself as a doctor still seemed to be …
Letting Go of Yesterday and Using the Gift of the Present
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.” ~Alice Morse Earle
Did you make a mistake yesterday? Or did something bad happen to you a few weeks ago? Are you still dwelling on it, doing all you can to move on? Then this post is for you.
Why? Because I want you to know that you’re not alone.
Just like you, my past wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns. No one in this world has a past that is sparkling clean and error-free. We’ve all made mistakes. That’s …
Go Do: Let Go of the Past and Future and Live in the Present
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” ~Einstein
“Go do, you’ll learn to just let yourself fall into landslide. Go do, you’ll learn to just let yourself give into low tide. Go do!”~Jonsi
I recently heard from a friend whom I had not heard from in over two years. He sent me an email just to check in and see how I was doing, congratulate me on my recent marriage, which he had heard about, and let me know that he had faced some hardship over the past couple of years.
He had …
Worrying About the Future: On Trusting in Uncertainty
“Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.” ~Eckhart Tolle
The other day my good friend from back home called me hysterically crying. She felt certain she just blew a second job interview, and she’d hit a breaking point.
She’d been struggling for months, just barely paying her bills and wondering if she could afford to keep her apartment.
Every purchase had become an exercise in extreme deliberation. In fact, I’m fairly certain that when I visited last, I saw her stressing in the grocery store about whether she really needed that box of Twinkies that beckoned from …
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 
