Forget The Past and Move On

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“Remember you not the former things, neither consider the things of old.” A lot of us are being haunted by our past. We allow our previous actions, decisions, and misfortunes control our present and shape our future. Take for instance; you had a bad relationship or marriage, and this won’t allow you to move on, to trust again and allow your heart to find love. We keep asking ourselves, what if my heart is broken again. What if I am incapable of giving love and so on? Or maybe you grew up in an unsupportive environment, and you were told you won’t amount to anything, and these thoughts are getting you disillusioned, and you can’t see a brighter future, you can’t seem to see yourself rising above where you are at the moment.

There isn’t anyone without a past, for some of us our past may be very horrible, but everyone who has ever succeeded in life, have had to rise above his or her past. They took these words to heart; “Remember you not the former things, neither consider the things of old”. If you keep remembering the hurts, failures, and tragedies of the past, you will be held back by them. Don’t let your past define you, destroy you, deter you, or stop you from living your greatest life.

You may be reading this and say, Vincent you don’t know how it hurts me, how it embarrassed me, you don’t know the pain I feel in losing a beloved one, but you see tragedies, failures, sicknesses, setbacks, do happen in everyone’s life, we can discover the reason, blame others, imagine how different our lives would be had they not occurred. But none of that is important: they did occur, and so be it. From there onward we must put aside the fear that they awoke in us, untie the chains we’ve been tied with and begin to rebuild our lives.

Why Go On?

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Life is filled with troubles. Today, in all parts of the world, almost everyone is touched by one sort of challenge, difficulty, tragedy, or the other. Sometimes, these challenges are so severe that some of us feel utterly hopeless about life, we see no light at the end of the tunnel, and ask ourselves – Why go on in life?

If this is the case with you right now, I want you to know there is hope, just as the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:8;  “We are hard-pressed in every way, but not cramped beyond movement; we are perplexed, but not absolutely with no way out.” You see, I believe that no matter how distressing or difficult your situation is right now, it can change for the better. Even if you’re your situation seem permanent, or irreversible, for example; suppose you have a terminal illness, or you have lost a loved one – even in these conditions, you can still change your outlook and attitude towards your situation.

Life Lessons

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Today is my birthday. As I look back at my life’s journey over the years, there have been several experiences and lessons that have altogether shaped me into the person I have become today. Nothing reflects most of my life experiences and lessons like this piece I found on the internet:

I’ve learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them;

I’ve learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don’t care back;

I’ve learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.

I’ve learned that you can get by on charm, for about fifteen minutes. After that, you’d better know something;

I’ve learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I’ve learned that no matter how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.

I’ve learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re downhill are the ones to help you get back up.

I’ve learned that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry.

I’ve learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I’ve learned that just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to doesn’t mean that they don’t love you with all they have.

I’ve learned that maturity had more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.

You Have Yourself to Blame

It is really intriguing why we often fail to accept responsibilities in life. People hardly want to accept responsibilities for the failings and misadventures in their lives. We blame our Parents, Spouses, Children, Friends, Bosses, Colleagues, Employees, Enemies, our pets, and every other thing but ourselves. The truth is nobody can hinder you from doing what you want, if your mind is really focused on it.  And whatever reasons we may give for our failures are simply excuses, whether we want to admit it or not.

Folks no one else makes you fail, you have only have yourself to blame. True achievers, all truly great people know this truth. They accept responsibilities over their lives, only losers blame others. If you find yourself always blaming others for most of the results in your life, why don’t you try examining your actions or inactions in the events that produced the results, you may discover like I have done too many times, that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life.

Get To Work

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“A young man once made an appointment to interview a well known author. As he began the conversation, the author interrupted and asked, “Why did you want to see me?” The young man paused, and then replied, “Well, I am a writer, too. I was hoping you could share your keys for success.”

“What have you written?” the author quizzed. “Nothing,” his visitor replied. “At least nothing that is complete.” The writer stood up before asking another question. “Well if you haven’t written anything, what are you writing?”

His guest responded, “Well, I am currently in school and I am hoping to find the time to pen a few thoughts.” As the author walked toward the door, he fired one final question before cutting the interview short. “So why do you call yourself a writer?”

Do you have a dream, a vision, a plan? Get to work, take the steps to make your dream a reality. Until you begin you are just a mere dreamer. Remember nothing works until you work it. Your dreams won’t build themselves, neither can you become anything by wishing.

Folks, writers write; Singers sing; Teachers teach; Preachers preach; Coaches coach; Painters paint, Workers work. You see what you do determines what you become. It doesn’t matter how terrible you may be now, just keep doing it. All masters were once apprentices, and perfection is achieved through repetition.

Hard Work Makes The Difference

“One day a woman was working in the garden outside of her house when a travelling minister stopped by. “What a lovely garden,” he exclaimed, getting out of his horse – drawn buggy. Full of roses, orchids, and other beautiful flowers, the garden was bothered by sculpted hedges and stood out from the other gardens in the neighbourhood.

“My good woman. God has certainly blessed you with an extraordinary garden.”

The woman stood up and wiped her brow.

“Yes and I am grateful. But you should have seen this place when He had it all to Himself!”

As he rode away, the minister realized that every gardener along this road had been blessed with the same soil, the same opportunity, and that each garden was a reflection of the people who created it. What someone does with their garden is their business. While each gardener had similar materials to work with, this woman had done something truly extraordinary, for her garden had so far surpassed her neighbours’.

What Will Be Said About You?

Steve Jobs once said; “Remembering I will be dead soon is the best tool I have encountered to help me make the big choices in my life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment, or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Folks death is inevitable. One day, when it’s all said and done, we will die. But have you ever thought about what will be said about you on your funeral? What does it all come down to?

We sweat and labour to find our place here on earth, to fulfil our dreams. Sometimes we take our selves so seriously, overreacting to the insignificant events of each passing day. Then finally, even for the kindest, wisest, and richest among us, upon our death all these experiences fade into history and our lives are summarized in a few minutes speech and a moment of silence.

You Have Tremendous Value

“A poor woman rummaged the back shelves of a rundown country store searching for something she could use as a paperweight. After finding a beautiful piece of burl wood, she approached the owner and asked its price.

“Let me see”, the owner replied, placing the piece of wood on the counter. “Well, it’s nearly a pound. I guess that will be a dollar.”

When the woman handed him the dollar, the owner said, “Isn’t it funny – that small piece of wood is only worth a dollar. But just think, if you carved it into a chess piece that worthless piece of wood would be worth ten times as much! As a matter of fact,” he added, “If that same piece of wood were made into a carved jewellery box, its value would increase another tenfold.”

But most important, he said, if you took this piece of wood and created a holy cross, the type used by a minister of a church, why ma’am, your worthless paperweight would indeed be priceless.”

Only You Can Stop You

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In the journey towards success in life I have discovered that more often than not there are more people who will try to stop you than aid you, even from among our family and friends. And if we give in to their words and pressures, we give them the power to control our lives. So no matter what stage you are in the pursuit of your dreams, remember this; your success or failure…boils down to you, and no one else.

There are people who will discourage you if you set ambitious goals, but never you mind them because, without goals there can be no achievement. There are people who will frown upon you as you seek a better life, but keep seeking because it is essential that all of us find our true place if happiness is to be found. There are those who will laugh and ridicule you as you increase your level of knowledge, but don’t let them stop you. Remember; there is little difference between those who cannot read and those who will not read. There are some who will gossip about you, and yet there can be no cause for rejoicing without overcoming these naysayers. There are those who will despise you when you achieve the improved life, but you must keep in mind that happiness is seldom found in poverty.

No matter what you do or achieve, there will be people who will not be pleased with your success, but that shouldn’t bother you. You were placed on this planet to be successful, and that success requires no apology.