How You Can Change Your Past
("Is this a Joke?")
Have you ever been told, "You can't change the past"... well think again!
If you are the kind of person who is still being bitten by the past then I have some wonderful news for you.
In fact, this could be the most exciting news you've heard for some time.
Why? Because there are actually two things about the past you can change and then everything will change for you. What are these two things?
You can change your attitude about what happened in the past.
You can change what you learn from it.
Your attitude towards the past determines the speed of your growth. Have you ever had someone say to you, "We'll laugh at this someday"? Well why wait? Start laughing today.
What happens is not the same as your perception of what happens. Two people can experience the same circumstances and yet have totally different experiences.
Five years ago I worked for a company and we organized a joint sales promotion between two different regions. To cut a long story short, we (Management) messed it up and almost everything went wrong. Our sales consultants missed out on leads and chaos erupted. But here's what was interesting.
One person in the Team was ready for blood. Our blood. When I asked them to describe their feelings of the event, this person described it as "Traumatic". I was shocked! When I went around the room and asked others for their feedback I then heard, "It was interesting", "it was challenging". What a difference.
The lesson. it's not the circumstances, it's the person. You have the power to see the opportunity or the disaster in any situation.
One of the most powerful lessons I have ever learnt in my life is that...
"Lessons unlearned get repeated."
Getting stuck in the past is often viewed as a negative by over-optimistic people.
But I am here to tell you that there is one thing worse than rehashing the mistakes of the past...
...and that is actually repeating them because you've failed to learn the lesson.
If someone does the wrong thing by you, then you have two choices - you can complain and blame them or you can learn from it so that it never happens again. I remember being taught that if it happens to you once it is their fault, if it happens to you twice it is your own damn fault.
If you lose money with the wrong investment decision then you can learn from it or lose out again somewhere down the track.
The past can serve as a wonderful guiding light.
By changing these 2 things about your past you simultaneously change your future.
You eliminate the same thing happening again in the future. Never buy into the idea that you can't change the past. You should think of it this way, "If you don't change the past, you have already written the next chapter of your future.
Wipe your slate clean with a healthy attitude and a willingness to learn - you CAN change your past!
