The author F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, "For what it's worth, it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over."

I love this quote so much. Time after time I find myself upset about where I am in life. I seem to feel that I should have done this or that or that I should be in a different place in life by this point. I feel stuck. I feel defined by my past. I don't know what to do.

Oftentimes, I think we let our past determine our future. We think that everything we've done has to decide what we are going to do or who we are going to be, but this is simply not the case.

You are more than your past.

This can refer to both positive and negative things from your past. Perhaps, you did something a few years ago that you aren't proud of. Maybe the guilt or fear weighs you down. Or maybe you had something really great happen to you, and now nothing seems to live up to that "peak" in your life. Maybe the disappointment of your life weighs you down.

In times like this, we feel trapped in the past. Even when our past isn't still our reality, it still haunts us and determines how we live our lives. It doesn't have to be this way.

In the book of Philippians, the apostle Paul writes, "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead."

Paul had some junk in his past. He spent much of his early life persecuting Christians and speaking against God. Despite his horrible past, Paul moved on. He came to know Christ and he did not let the things he used to do stop him from living his life for Christ. He changed how people saw him.

It wasn't too late for Paul, and it's not too late for you. No matter what your past was like, it doesn't have to trap you. You are free to live whatever life you want! Pray. Ask God to show you what He wants for your life, apart from what you've done or experienced, even if it's scary.

So whatever your past, don't let it hinder your future. The past is behind you. Work towards whatever future you want regardless.

There is something so freeing about having the world in front of you and being able to choose who you are going to be and what you are going to do. No matter how old you are, you always have this option.

Go live a life you're proud of. If that's not the life you're living now, change it. It's never too late to change your life.