Your past: A school to learn from or a club to beat yourself up with?

[Mithrandir]

Hey everyone,

I hope those of you that are on vacation are enjoying the break! I ran across a great quote the other day and I'm trying very hard to apply it to my own life.

Everyone has things in their past that they've done that they're not proud of. But you can chose to use your past either as a club to beat yourself up, or as a school to learn from.

I know for myself, I have a tendency to replay things I've done in my past that I'm not proud of over and over. They replay in my mind and it gets me depressed. Lately, though, I've taken to trying to stop the cycle of despair and really analyze these things. Of course I'll try not to do it again, but what can I learn from it?

It's been helpful for me, so I'm guessing it might be helpful for someone here. When you find yourself in one of these situations, try saying this out-loud to yourself.

Rising above your situation and your past is not about feeling better about yourself. It's about growing as a person.