There used to be an old commercial on the airwaves. I believe it was for Virginia Slim cigarettes. It said, “You’ve come a long way, baby.”
That’s quite a statement, really. All of us, every human, have come a long way. It might be a great and incredibly good long way. Or it might be a terrible way filled with hardships. Either way, from the time we were born, we did not know a single thing. The lights were bright. That was our first realization. And we went from there.
I’ve said it a lot. We learn as we go, especially if we are paying attention and trying to learn. But one thing is for certain. We can’t erase the past. But we can learn from it, if we want to. We can try to ignore it, but rest assured, it will always be there. And if we are smart, applying what we know from our past experiences helps us to grow in good ways.
So many times I hear people say this: “Don’t look back unless that’s where you want to go.” Or something along those lines. But I don’t agree.
I mean, if we have worked our butts off to climb the highest mountain, it is sometimes a great thing to look back to see all the little footsteps we’ve taken. I mean, after all, each one of those steps was worth it. Each one of those steps added up and helped us get to where we are standing at the summit.
I think it is more than OK to look back to see how far we’ve come.
Looking back does not mean wanting to return. It means recognizing all the distance we have traveled.
So yes, look forward. Always. But we shouldn’t be afraid to glance over our shoulder now and then.
We didn’t get here by accident. We have come a long way.
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“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
— Søren Kierkegaard
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“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”
— Oscar Wilde
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“The journey matters as much as the destination.”
— Paulo Coelho
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“Success is a series of small efforts repeated day in and day out.”
— Robert Collier
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