Reach forward

Philippians 3:14: "Brothers, I do not consider myself to have already taken hold of it; but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead."

Reflection:

Every day is an opportunity to reach forward and let go or detach yourself from what has already happened, whether good or bad. Thinking and spending energy on the past makes little sense when you need it for your present and future. The past is a closed case from which only learning can be rescued.

The future needs energy to achieve dreams, make plans, and carry out activities with discipline and excellence. It is essential to know the future we want to reach. Life may have played tricks on us, such as an unexpected job loss like being laid off due to a company restructuring, health issues like a sudden diagnosis of a chronic illness, or relationship challenges like a breakup or divorce, knocking down our plans and decimating our strength. Live the present fully, we are not a divorce, nor a grief, nor an illness. Those things happened to us, but they do not restrict us. We define ourselves each second in the present.

Also, when everything changes so quickly and there is so much uncertainty, it can seem overwhelming to have a dream and plan with so many external factors against it. But there is always something under our control and complete dependence; that is where we focus our attention and energy. A good level of self-awareness is not just helpful, it's necessary to identify this critical factor. Understanding ourselves and our capabilities is the first step in taking control of our energy and directing it towards our goals. This self-awareness prepares us for the challenges ahead.

What if we get stuck in the past despite looking to the future? We try again and again, and we keep slipping. In these cases, we have to reflect on the fact that we might not have yet learned from this situation, because we need to learn to overcome the obstacle. Usually, we know what to do, but we look for excuses or warm water bandages. We have to have courage and act. Applying the lessons of the past is essential to extending to the future. In other words, don't just let go of the past; use it as an input for learning what's necessary to advance into the future.