Looking Back

Many people are prone to doing this. Many others, equally, dismiss it as a waste of time - why would you look back on your past, when there is so much ahead of you with which to occupy your time?

I like taking time, maybe a few minutes, to look at old photos and videos, and to think of past experiences. I suppose it is a way of keeping track of what I have done but also what I have yet to achieve. I find a comfort in it, even though sometimes it means revisiting, often entirely accidentally, times which were not so great or encountering people with whom you no longer get along. I like to appreciate the ways in which I have changed since a certain time in appearance; it leads me to think of what I was doing at that time, what I have done since and therefore how I have changed in personality and attitude. Am I more open-minded, confident, friendly, compassionate, tolerant, knowledgeable than I was then? I hope so.

There is something to be learnt in looking back. Have you spent your time wisely, have you made mistakes, have you learnt from them? Just taking myself six months previously and I was rather convinced I was incapable of living a life in France. I have proved myself wrong. But as much as you enjoy this nostalgic trip, it is getting stuck in the past that is where the problem lies. There always comes a time, quite quickly I find, where the photos must be put to one side, the videos closed, and your mind brought back to the present, and indeed the future. 

Celebrate your accomplishments, by all means, and tell people about them when the opportunity arises. But taking the positive from them into the future is now what counts, taking that next step forward with the inspiration and drive to make something of the next day, and the next, even if it is only what you would consider minor. It is not minor to someone else.

In a similar vein, for those of you who have heard of Alex Day, you may well have discovered his project "Lifescouts" (www.lifescouts.com). If you haven't, Alex Day is a British YouTuber with a new project in which you can proclaim the things you have achieved in a similar format to Scouts and Guides in which children and young people can get involved. There are online badges to share and tell your story, and you can actually buy physical badges (which I am terribly excited to do, just as soon as I have some money...) to display to the world. Best of all, you get the chance to be inspired to do something new - just today I said to my friend that we should finally do that skydive we have been discussing for years (I will keep you posted...). Alex is excited by it, and quite frankly so am I! His video is just below this paragraph for a better explanation, and before you ask, my current total is eight...

So whilst perhaps you can commit overkill if you are not too careful, taking a glance over your life thus far can be helpful and encouraging, as long as you keep your focus in the right place. Just make sure that if you do take a moment to look behind you, you also remember to turn back again and fix your gaze on the road ahead, for it is only that one which will take you forward.