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Forgetting What Is Behind

 

                Generalizations are helpful because they show a pattern that is normally true. However, they are also dangerous because they ignore the exceptions to the rule. 

               Here is my generalization:  It is a quality of the strong to be able to forget the past and move on. 

The apostle Paul summarizes this idea when he states, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God had called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Too often, we trip over things that are behind us.  We remember and nurse old hurts.  We rehearse mistakes that no one else recalls.  In doing so, we pull the past into the present and allow it to dictate how we feel right now.  In these cases, we would be better off “forgetting what is behind”.  No matter how many times we replay the incidents in our minds, we cannot go back and alter their outcomes.  All we can do is live today and move forward from where we are now.

Incidentally, it is not just our past mistakes that cause us trouble.  Dwelling too much on our former success can cause us to be discontented with our current circumstances.  Too much looking back may make us long for the good old days when we were younger, healthier, and full of potential.  Again, the effect is that we become discouraged with our current life because it is not full of amazing or fulfilling circumstances like those we remember.

Now, here is the exception to this rule:  If there is something from your past that you need to deal with, please get the help you need to do so.  Stuffing your feelings down or pretending that nothing happened is not a healthy way to deal with actual harm or loss.  That strategy will backfire every time.

The issue is that we cannot allow ourselves to be trapped by the past, whether good or bad.  We must continue living in this moment and not spend our days yearning for or regretting what went before. 

It is a quality of the strong to be able to move on.

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