Dwayne The Rock Johnson was a guest on a late-night talk show. The host, looking to provide a good laugh to all watching, put up a few pictures of the Rock as a young boy; an average skinny awkward young boy.
The host says, “Look at you! Look at how skinny you are. Nothing like how you are today.” And The Rock, in his typical good-natured way, smiles and says, “Well, I was younger then.”
I was younger then. Sounds about right.
How many of us look back on some version of our younger self and aren’t happy with all that we see? Perhaps we feel shame. Or remorse. And how fair is it for us to do so? (Hint: It’s not.)
Or, how many of us look back on something that happened to us with resentment. Or resignation.
It’s fair to say that any anxieties or level of depression that we’re feeling today is a result of our past.
When these feelings next creep into your thoughts, I’m asking you to be a friend to yourself and tell yourself … “Well, I was younger then.”
You have grown. You have changed. We are all still growing and changing. And each day we pretty much get to choose who we want to be today.
If you’re a different person than you were ‘back then’ … stronger, wiser, kinder, or just striving to be any of those … then please do yourself a favor and make peace with the past.
The past exists only in our mind and if we give it less of our mind space then it will rule less of our current lives.
It’s not always easy to forgive. And it’s especially difficult to forgive ourselves. Yet, if you are honestly trying to do better then you deserve to forgive yourself. You deserve to be at peace with your past.
Growth happens. It’s supposed to happen. Look back … thank the old you for showing you all of the ways that you can do better. And then keep looking forward.
“It’s funny how day by day nothing changes. But when you look back, everything is different.” – C.S. Lewis
Evolve Counseling Services provides adults and adolescents with the environment and the tools necessary to imagine and achieve your better future. Reach out to us today to begin a discussion on what that could look like.
