Reflecting Backwards Is Harder Than Moving Forward
Oftentimes we get stuck because the past is too hard to move forward from, but the past isn't how were defined.
Memories are what our mind uses to reflect back on old events and past experiences. Memories, though, are deceptive. In every reflection, they reveal fewer truths and are more susceptible to manipulation from our mind. We mold our remembered experiences into what our insecurities and fears are screaming at us from the background and add dashes of our hopes and aspirations, as well. This is why reflecting backward is so much harder than moving forwards. When we move forward, we have a set idea of where we want to go, or at least a general idea. We have a path we wish to move forward on. We have clarity thinking about the future. It's where our fears and hopes are useful because they help us to select the most prudent path that is aligned with our interests and life goals for us to profess on. However, reminiscing is dangerous and misleading. There is fear to be had when one's own memories aren't trustworthy.
Having the memories of the past are our rafts for placing ourselves in the world and knowing our own identity. Those with severe degenerative memory disorders have challenges remembering their identity because they can't at times place the memories and cannot place it with themselves. Memories thus are not owned by the person who creates them innately, rather they are associated possessions. Thus, memories are not trustworthy. Moving forward, however, is. Having a clear path and being able to define yourself and how you want to move forward, to be happier, to be more satisfied, to be more fulfilled is what looking towards the future provides us. The future provides us with endless opportunities to forget what has been and define ourselves by what we wish to become.
We are all full of limitless potential. Looking forward provides the ability to make new memories, experience new things, and spend our time defining who we are, what we wish to be, and what we want our futures to be. We are never defined by our past, but rather, we are defined by who we want to be and where we are going. To remember this as true and to not hold past grudges, mistakes, and failures as permanent hallmarks of our personalities and identities is hard, but crucial. To make the most of ourselves and to bravely march forward toward the future we want and to work tirelessly towards it, is perhaps the truest indicator of our personality. We should move forward with the old memories we have, neutralize them for both reflection and learning purposes for progressing — that's the hard part — and continue to move forward and make new memories.
