Welcome back. I hope you had a nice holiday if you were able to take some time off.
Great article just in time for New Years. I really loved the way the “past” is presented here.
Kathy wrote this quite some time ago, but I just found a copy and wanted to share it with you.
Any New Year’s Resolutions you want to change?
A New Past by Kathy Gates
We hear all the time that we need to let go of the past because we can’t do anything to change it.
And that’s true. What’s happened has happened.
But what if you think about the past in a different way?
For example, the past is not just what happened when you were in college, or your first marriage. It is also what happened last month, last week, yesterday, this morning.
So you are literally creating “the past” all the time — with every minute that passes.
Why is that important? Because the best indicator of what your future will look like is your past – your past attitudes, your past choices, your past actions.
But here’s the good news — a “new past” can be created by using the present. A new past can be created by making different choices in the present.
For example —
If you’ve always kept your credit cards maxed-out, but instead you choose to say no to credit card debt now, tomorrow, next week, and for the next year, then you have successfully changed your past from being a maxed-out-credit-card-debtor to someone with no credit card debt.
You have changed your past.
If in the past you have been a 7 day a week junk food eater, and instead you say no to junk food 4 out of 7 days for the next year, you have successfully changed your junk food eater label.
You have changed your past.
If you have always been a procrastinator with your taxes, and instead you decide to get caught up and stay caught up with your taxes, you have successfully changed your past. You were once a tax procrastinator, now you are not.
You have changed your past.
We’ve all known people who have changed. Sometimes radically, like from a drug problem to a drug counselor. Or perhaps like in the movies from a street-walker to a soccer-mom on the PTA.
Your new past may not be as dramatic (or maybe it will!).
But the point is that when you create a new past, you also create your new future.
So if a great future is what you’re looking for, start with the past. Change your past, and you’ll automatically change your future.
Kathy Gates, Professional Life Coach
Ready to bridge that gap between the life you have and the life you want? Professional Life Coach Kathy Gates specializes in helping people who are ready to create a simpler, less stressful, more joyful and meaningful lifestyle. Visit Reallifecoach.com (link broken and removed) to sign up for a free newsletter, and learn more about what Life Coaching can do for YOU!