Article by Make The Days Contributors Derrick Torrens and Kevin L. DeWitt

 

One of the positive things about the today’s economy is that it seems to be bringing more people together.  Just one small example is the increase in potluck dinners with friends and family so everyone enjoys a wonderful meal while saving money.  Smiles seem a little more genuine.  When people offer you something there may truly be no strings attached.  While many are hurting and we are far from through this recession, we hear story after story of people helping … perhaps bringing out the best during tough times.

 

This is also a good a time for reflection. 

 

We are Each Better Today Than Yesterday

Unfortunately, with the state of the national economy – and many of our personal economies - many of us tend to hop into our personal time machine to relive the events of this year and year’s past.  Often times the unenlightened (I am a card carrying member) focus too easily on yesterday’s pain and disappointment.  Our perceived failures, opportunities squandered, goals not met become prevalent thoughts.  There should never be a sense of shame when we look back over our lives, but for many of us there is.  Outwardly we may put on our “game face,” but we wonder why we aren’t happy and invariably look to our past for a reason … rather than looking to ourselves, right now. 

 

Overcoming our disappointment for not reaching the unattainable or not having met some goal should not stop us from enjoying life. 

 

Each of us should take some time to relish where we are and turn any negative life experiences into an affirmation of who we have become!  Each of us is better today than yesterday … we know more … we have experienced more of life.

 

Forgiveness

We need look no further than the person in the mirror when considering our life’s journey.  Have I been a good father to my children?  Did I finish school?  Am I in the job I want (or wanted)?  Do I have a job?  Is this where I thought I would be?  These are valid questions to which we don’t always get answers we want to hear. 

 

Eventually we must ask, “How long am I going to beat myself up?”  Many times if we are honest we also ask, “How long am I going to beat up those around me I love?”  We are our own toughest critics when it comes to forgiving our shortcomings.  Forgiveness is the only word I can think of to quantify what I feel when I am in that sort of mood.  It’s as if my dream perished.  Now, for example, because I am no longer capable of being an astronaut, I convince myself that I don’t deserve to be happy. 

 

Humbug!  Yes, humbug!  No matter how ridiculous that word is … it is no more absurd than continuously proclaiming failure in a journey that isn’t over.  Every day a new journey is also beginning … full of opportunity if we will embrace it. 

 

Opportunities are There for Us

Your goal may be to earn a degree, find a new job, save your marriage, learn a new skill, or to learn a foreign language.  Keep on trying and don’t punish yourself anymore when you come up short. 

 

Make a decision and adhere to it.  Know what you can and can’t do, and stick with the things you do.  This does not mean don’t push yourself.  We all need to stretch our limits and abilities.  But it does mean to start out by keeping it simple.  Maybe that’s the slacker in me, but start out with simple goals and build up your trust and faith in yourself that you can persevere and get tasks accomplished.  Once you’ve done that, bask in the glow of success.

 

Often times we become victims of amnesia when it comes to the good we’ve done, but our memory is photographic about mistakes.  Now don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back, but don’t be beat yourself up over past shortcomings either.  There’s a middle ground where you can say “I missed the bull’s eye today, but there is always tomorrow.” 

 

If nothing else, remember this - Know that we can never go back, but we can always go forward.  

 

So check your baggage at the counter.  It only slows you down and we’ll even let you do it for free.  That’s the attitude I have adopted.  Who knows … my astronaut days may still be a possibility!

 

“We must nurture our dreams like we would a child.  They are God-given and just as precious.  Without ambition how would a child learn to ride a bicycle, play an instrument or whistle?  We deny the spirit of God when we as adults settle for less than our dreams!”
-Conway Stone

 

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt

 

“A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.”
-John Barrymore

 

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