Something to Think About
by Miki Saxon
As I said Sunday, I won’t be posting again until Monday. And to sweeten my time off my gym is closed until Monday (Now that’s something to be thankful for!).
I decided to share my first (2006) Thanksgiving post today, because I honestly believe it is one of the most important concepts I have to offer.
It’s mind food for you to consider and digest along with tomorrow’s feast and the leftovers during the weekend.
Don’t judge who you were and what you did in the past based on who you are and what you know now.
Everybody knows that hindsight’s 20/20, but that doesn’t stop people from laying a coulda/shoulda/woulda trip on themselves.
Each of us is composed of multiple, past “me’s,” each a different, stand-alone version from the current one.
When you look at past actions (Why did I…) you need to first ask yourself if you made the best decision/action possible based on the information you had at the time in conjunction with the person you were at that time.
If, in fact, you did, then the you you-are-now has no right to judge, i.e., beat up on, the previous you for that decision.
This doesn’t mean that you need to condone everything—today’s you may decide that in the future you should do more research or whatever—but it does preclude you from taking your former self to task.
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Thanksgiving is a time when we’re supposed to be thankful, but exactly what you give thanks for is a very private matter—I have one friend who gives thanks for her family, another who gives thanks that her family is far, far away.
So, no matter your age, when giving thanks be sure to include all the past you’s, whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, since they got you where you are today and their very existence guarantees that there will be many more in the future as you grow.
Have a wonderful holiday and I’ll see you all on Monday.
Flickr image credit: Karola Riegler
