Crossing Your Bridge

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." -Soren Kierkegaard

You have probably heard the phrase, "never look back, always keep looking forwards" and wondered what it really means. On the surface I would look at the phrase and think I am to bolt to the future with no regard for the past. Even Thoreau said, "Never look back unless you are planning to go that way."

We can never go back to change the past, nor would we want to.

It is 'forward' in direction that we want to take our life. I also believe that while we are moving forward, we do need to look back in order to understand the person we have become. The past contains the building blocks of what, whom and how we have gotten to where we are currently in life.

If we understand the person we are today will serve as a guide post for who we want to become. We are not dictated by past events, only shaped by them. The future holds endless possibility. So it is important to know who you are by knowing where you have been.

But do not let the past pull you into its grasp. Leave all of that 'stuff' behind you. None of that can be changed now, only learned from.

Just like water which has flowed under the bridge, our past is gone.

You are here today standing on that bridge crossing into another time in your life. You have been given the opportunity to make new choices and changes. This is your bridge that exists between the past and your future.

You cross this bridge every moment of the day getting to decide what is next for your life. The future is on the other side waiting for you to decide.

I say move forward in life having learned from the past, full of expectation for greater things in your life.

Stay inspired my friends.

Step Taken

“To establish true self-esteem we must concentrate on our successes and forget about the failures and the negatives in our lives.” -Denis Waitley

Each of us have small amounts of self-doubt or even large problems with believing in ourselves at various times in our lives. It can be a very debilitating way to live. Your successes or failures in life are mostly dependent upon you as opposed to those things being handed to you.

Even if you are handed success, you can either succeed or fail once given it. Others can have all of the belief and faith in your abilities, but you need to have belief in yourself for success to actually happen.

If you find yourself at a point of just sitting on the edge of your bed, wondering what to do next, may you need to have a talk with yourself. Ask yourself if you are being negative or positive about your life. If negative, a starting point for change has just been found. It isn't easy, it takes time and work to turn your inner ship of negative thinking. But with practice and continued inner talking, you will change those habits.

You will also need to become what is termed a 'chooser and decider'.

You make the choice to have a great day. Don't let someone else be the determination of your attitude. The person that cuts you off in traffic, only you can decide if that circumstance is going to make your day a good one or a bad one. There are many examples just like this. What you have to do is decide to be in charge of your own attitude.

It all begins with these steps we take in life. A small step forward here and a small step forward there; pretty soon you will be on the path to a great life.

NOTE: The picture is of one of my grandchildren. It reminds me that there will always be one first step taken, and that each of us can take this step at any point in our life. Whether 100 minutes or a 100 years old, change happens when we put one foot out to take a step.

Stay inspired my friends in each step you take.