I used to look back on the past and feel good about the warm memories. But then I’d also feel a bit sad, wondering if the good times were over. I marveled at the thought of being able to turn back the clock to a certain time and place in order to recapture lost opportunities. But then, I’d want to travel further back in time to amend other nuances of the past. And then, further still. Was there any point in time where my potential was at its absolute height?

I think we look at the past through rose-colored glasses and surmise that the present could never compare, regardless of how untrue it may be.

But the way things happened was the only way it could’ve happened.

You have to accept all your past experiences and every decision you ever made as the singular path that made you into the person you are today. It gave you strength where there was once weakness, knowledge where there was once ignorance. You can’t escape your past, but you can embrace it. You are better for the mistakes you’ve made or the missteps you’ve taken.

You just have to ask yourself what’s important to you, what you want in life, and the path you will take to get it.