Sometimes it hurts to look back and see things of which you are not particularly proud. As a creative person, it can be so hard to be thankful for and appreciate the work done in an earlier stage in your development. You look upon that work with veteran eyes, nitpicking any elements you made that you would do differently now in retrospect. Sometimes you become ashamed of it and want to hide it. After all, that work certainly doesn’t represent who you are now, right?
This same concept extends far beyond creative work. You are the main character in your own story, and you have been through so much on your journey. There are experiences and decisions in everybody’s life that, by looking back, we tend to shudder at the thought. Mistakes we have made, words we have said, regrets that we have collected, all stockpile in a place in our minds where we dare not go often. Yet, all those things are still a part of what makes you unique.
Embrace it and be thankful for the monuments of your past failures. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes are the best way to learn to be better. You can’t improve unless you understand the importance of your faults, and constantly try to do better next time.
When all is said and done, we can either look back on those things and be ashamed of them, or we can say to ourselves “Thank you for teaching me a lesson. I could not be who I am today without you.” Be thankful always. Happy Thanksgiving!
Ooooh I love this one! Wise words indeed. Mistakes and regrets only shape and teach us. As Yoda once famously said: Heeded my words not, did you? Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery. But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Luke, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters.