I have a really bad habit of looking in my car rear view mirror too much. I will pass a car that’s going too slow or someone that is texting while driving and then I will continue to watch them long afterwards. Part of it is I am fascinated of the reasons people do the things they do. And the crazier they are the more I try to figure out why. So I watch them in my rear view mirror.
The problem is I’m still driving, and I’m doing so in the opposite direction than I’m looking. I am very fortunate that I haven’t wrecked yet but I have come very close. A few years ago I became very aware of my habit of looking backward too often and too long. I have been making a concerted effort to look forward, only using my rear view mirrors to keep tabs of what’s behind me but not to watch them, lest I cause a wreck.
Sometimes life is similar to driving. We all have pasts. Sometimes those pasts are bad, sometimes they are good, but in all cases they are the past. It’s good to keep track of what’s behind us so we don’t make the same mistakes. However, we should never watch the past, if indeed our drive is to move forward. Some try to recapture the past, some revel in the misery of it – I have done both. What I did 5 years ago I cannot do today, period, good or bad. What I can do is focus on where I am going, paying attention to what’s in front of me.
Perhaps you are like many people who tend to stare at what’s behind them more than what’s in front of them. Be careful doing this, staring too long at the past will inevitably cause a wreck in your life. Instead of reveling in the past look forward to the future. Find your passion for today, not yesterday. Stare at the possibilities of what’s in front of you, not what’s behind you. Life is ahead, waiting for you, and so are your passions.
Attempt it. Chance it. Try it. Get to It!