There are two ways you can view your life; you can look at the past and count your failures or look at your future and count your dreams. It’s what you count that counts!

Your past can become a limitation to what you can achieve and become in the future. Some people have become imprisoned by their past that they have no hope of fulfilling their dreams. John Mason observed, “Regret looks back; worry looks around; faith looks up!”

 

Jim Rohn in his book, 7 Strategies for Wealth and Happiness, notes, “Many people are afraid to get going because of past failure and pain. They carry heavy burdens on their souls; burden that unless they unloaded will weigh them down forever…there is nothing you can do about the past. It is gone and buried”

One thing we must know is that whatever happened in the past is gone and we can do nothing about it. But, most times rather than putting the past behind us we hold unto it in our memories which now constitute a mental block that keeps us from advancing and pursuing our goals and dreams. When this happens, one becomes confined and stagnant instead of moving on to success.

 

That dear woman of God, Kathryn Kuhlman notes, “It seems the easiest thing in the world to live in the past. When we live in the past, there are and will be regrets. We see the nurturing of hurt feelings. There will be thought of injustice, there will be memories of things that should be buried and forgotten. We are reluctant to lose our hold on the past and hesitate to start living the future. As a result, instead of joy and adventure, we know only the pangs of remorse, and we never have peace of mind.”

 

 Since, we can’t alter our past, we are supposed to focus on our present actions and take control of our future. You have a decision to make either to use your past to your advantage or allow your past to take advantage of your future.

You can make your past work for you when you learn from it and use the lesson to influence your present decision in order to avoid the negative result you had in the past or you can allow your past to take advantage of you by preventing you from trying, aspiring and advancing. Robert Schuller questioned, “Are old hurts, old defeats, and old setbacks haunting, holding, and hurting you?

“I’ll never get married again.”

“I’ll never trust anyone again”

“I’ll never believe God again”

“I’ll never go into business again”

“I’ve been burned once-never again”

He added, “If you think this way then you have allowed past unfortunate incidents to move in and dominate you. Don’t let bad memories manipulate you.”

 

You need to understand that every successful person had his or her own past. In fact, if you have the privilege to listen to the story of some successful people, vis-à-vis, their beginning, their mistakes and failures- you will be encouraged. You may then reason that you have not really done anything compared to them to merit being called a permanent failure. John Mason said, “Failure may look like a fact, but it’s just an opinion. Successful people believe that mistakes are just feedback. It’s not how far you fall but how high you bounce that makes the difference.”

 

Are you crying over the mistake you made in the past? Will you allow your past failures to destroy your dreams? You don’t have to allow the accusation of your past to stop the inspiration of your future. Pick up your broken dreams and move on.

 

Joel Osteen writes:

 Let go of your failures and let those doors totally closed behind you. Step forward into the future that God has for you, knowing there’s nothing you can do about past disappointments. You can’t change the past, but you can do something about the future. What’s in front of you is far more important than what is behind you. Where you are going is more significant than where you came from or where you have been.”

 

Keep Your vision ahead of you, your best days are before you not behind you.

About the Author.

Dr. Duyilemi Akindele Felix is a renowned  writer and International Inspirational Speaker. He is a popularly sought after Speaker in Corporate Organizations, Schools, Seminars and Churches. He has written a number of inspirational books including "It’s In You" "Pick Up Your Broken dreams" "Wake Up Your Destiny" and others. He spends his time reading, writing and speaking.