We Are Products of the Past, but We Don’t Have to be Prisoners of It

4. We are products of our past, we don’t have to be prisoners of it.

I discovered this Tool in a book called The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. We all have pasts; we all have a few bones in the closet. Those bones only become skeletons when we decide to put all the bones together and give them life. What I am trying to say is that our past does not have to dictate who we are or where we are going. It can guide us where we want to go by knowing where we don’t want to return to.

I hear the excuse that others won’t let me forget my past. Well, I am here to tell you that that is kind of up to you. Responding or reacting to the acknowledgement of the past feeds it and allows those skeletons to dance. These aspects of our past are not always bad. Sometimes we had great pasts; we were at the top in the past. We may be having difficulty living up to what we were or what we used to be. Only one person holds the key to that closet and that is you. The people and stories that I like to celebrate are the ones that have the past that most could not overcome but did. Those are the kind of stories that inspire and motivate. Those are the kind of stories that leaders are born out of. If you are going to use the problems in your closet as an excuse (that may actually be the size of a small bedroom), then it might be better to go lock yourself inside, because that is what you are doing when you let the past hinder growth, goals and love.

When you reach your goals and new heights in spite of past problems, it feels good. Probably the most important thing is that when you rise above “bone and chain,” you give others the strength to do the same. Giving yourself and others the gift of breaking the bear traps we use to hold us down is one of the most powerful experiences I know.