In today’s post to his blog, Jack’s Winning Words, Pastor Freed used this quote – “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” (Steve Jobs)
We all have some tendency to try to be like someone else whom we might admire, to live their life. In the end, we cannot be them and must live our own lives. Perhaps another quote from Jack’s blog sums that up very well – “Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person that you always should have been.” (David Bowie)
You may arrive at that point and realize that you don’t very much like the person that you have become, but there is no reason that you still cannot become the person that you wish to be. Perhaps Steve Jobs should have also said that you shouldn’t waste your time thinking about what might have been, the “couldas, woulda, shoulda’s” of life. You must find a way to accept life as it is, and to be happy about it. If for no other reason, you should be happy that you still have time to make changes in your life to become that person that you desire to become. For that to occur, another quote from Jack’s blog seems appropriate –
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that prisoner was you.” ― Lewis B. Smedes, author and theologian
We become prisoners of the sins of the past, those of others against us and those that we commit, if we cannot forgive others or ourselves. Being unable to forgive others is to allow them to control your life, to set your agenda. It is amazing how liberating it feels when you forgive them and free yourself from the hatred and plans for revenge that you had been carrying around. Try it. You’ll like it.
I have also posted here a few times about forgiving yourself as a major step to moving forward in life. You truly set yourself free to be that person that you want to be when you also forgive yourself. Time spent revisiting the disappointments of the past is wasted time and is associated with words like remorse, regrets, and failure. Time spent thinking about a better future might be called dreaming, but can also be associated with goals, planning, and anticipating – all much more positive than wasting time on the past.
So, don’t waste your time trying to be someone else or reliving the past. Forgive others and, most importantly, forgive yourself and start the journey to becoming the person that you always wanted to be.
You be you and be happy about it.
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