Are You Ready to Forge Ahead in Life?

As the school year has been winding down and this year’s seniors graduate, I’ve seen more and more social media posts that ask one of two questions.

“If you could relive your high school years, would you?”

OR

“If you could go back and change a decision you made, would you?”

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RELIVE MY HIGH SCHOOL YEARS?

For me that is a definite NO!

GO BACK AND HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THE OPPOSITE DECISION?

Again a definite NO!

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I get the people who respond to this question with a “Hell yeah!” For many, those years devoid of adult responsibilities allowed the freedom to pursue a wide variety of interests, build friendships, and learn who we were. Mom and Dad paid the mortgage or rent that kept the roof over our heads. Mom and Dad filled the fridge with food. Mom and Dad, until we got our driver’s license, chauffeured us to events – or we rode our bikes, mooched rides from friends, or walked.

On the other hand, I get the people who respond negatively to this question. Those that struggled to fit in, to get good grades, or to just survive at home don’t want to relive those days. Who would?

In those years, we learned how the building blocks of life went together. We learned the heartache of loss: loss of loved ones, loss of opportunities, loss of innocence. We learned the rewards of hard work: hard work for grades, hard work for the team we were a part of, hard work juggling school and a job.

I see one problem with going back and reliving yesterday. One problem with going back to make a better choice. One problem with going back to seize an opportunity.

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Movies and books have explored the dangers of traveling to the past, and I, for one, am glad that we are years away from that scope of technology. The movie Back to the Future found the characters, Marty and Doc, returning to Marty’s high school years, but make one tiny change in the past and it will affect your present and your future. Marty’s actions interfere with the events of the past, and Marty must fix things to ensure his own existence in the future.

It’s important to realize that you are who you are today because of the events and decisions you made in the past. On a positive/negative spectrum, the positive experiences and decisions build your confidence while the negative experiences and decisions develop your perseverance and determination. Your choices and experiences help develop your character and your personality. Everything life handed you in the past, as well as today, helps to shape who you will be tomorrow.

It’s like my current morning affirmation: Today, I am the best that I can be, but by making good decisions and choices today, tomorrow I will be even better.

Will you take the effort to make good decisions and choices today? Will you move on from the regrets of poor decisions and missed opportunities? Today is a great day to start moving forward.

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Thanks for reading.

I would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and questions in the comment section below.

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As you move through your day, please remember to

Live Life –

Keep Things Simple –

Look for the Positive –

AND

Smile.