Words to inspire – Look ahead

Look ahead, focus on the things you do well, not the things you’ve done wrong.

When considering this I thought wow this is so important and then in my morning devotion I read the exact same thing in the Bible. When trying to reach a goal in life it’s not always easy and actually I believe life goals and purpose continue until we leave this earth. We’re on a journey with lots of different roads.
Some people may look as they reach their destination early but perhaps what they are doing is what I read this morning: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” Paul writes: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me.”
In a similar theme to last week I woke up thinking about things that block our progression. This was one factor that affected me and at times still affects me. I often look back at what has come before now and base that on the future. If I have done things wrong, it can be hard sometimes to imagine going forward without those wrongs poking their ugly head up again and again.
Some of us may have experienced bad relationships in the past and because of that when a new relationship comes our way we are weary and on edge if we see signs of the past. We then predict that a similar thing is about to occur and sometimes cause those things because of our insecurities. We begin to record all the wrongs instead of looking ahead with what is good. The past then affects the present and the future and a blockage occurs.
I don’t do it as much now but when given a new task or when I entered into a new season I had a habit of bringing old attitudes with me. What this meant was, because I hadn’t achieved something else, I felt I wouldn’t achieve this new thing especially if it seemed harder. As a result, I was reluctant to give it a go or I would dissect everything about it and overthink and overthink. Before I’ve even tried it, in my mind it had already failed so I wouldn’t continue.
Actually I did that recently too. An opportunity came my way and because it looked like something I had done before that I didn’t enjoy as much as other things and I didn’t think I did it as well as other things, I wrote it off. Then one morning I woke up and thought I was being a bit shortsighted. Perhaps I needed to focus on what I do well and not what I did wrong and bring those factors into play with this. In fact, I did just that and I’ve stepped out again and I’m focusing on what’s ahead rather than what’s behind.
The past can help us in the present at times. Sometimes we have to learn for previous mistakes but when we use the past to determine the future, that’s when there could be an issue. We might be sent a similar experience to that of the past not to see a repeat but to witness something different. However, if we spend time recording the wrongs of the previous situation we won’t have time to look ahead at the potential beauty in front of us. This time we may have to do something different to get different results. We may have to look at what the people involved (inc ourselves) do well, rather than what we have done wrong.
I remember when I first started dating MrJK, lots of people had an opinion about our future together based on his history in particular. Even at our customary wedding ceremony some relatives tried to convince me not to go through with it and predicted it wouldn’t last, based on the wrongs of the past. However, I looked at what we did well rather than what we had both done wrong. 20 years later, we’re still here and probably stronger than ever because we are focusing on winning the prize ahead instead of concentrating on previous failures.
It’s not always easy, but I know when I continually look back, it’s harmful to my journey ahead. It distracts me from the path I’m walking along and it can make me standstill for ages, preventing me from getting to the destination quickly.
What was important for me, was forgiving myself for the wrongs, forgiving others for the wrongs and then letting go of them so they don’t hold me back. When I could do that, I began to see what I was doing well and put those things in to practice. I then had different results.
I used to talk so much about the things I had done wrong and things that others had done wrong which involved me. That in itself used to choke me. I talk less about those things now, think less about those things and fill my mind with positive energy as I focus on things to come. I actually feel lighter because old thoughts used to weigh me down. I’ve dropped those heavy burdens and I’m free.
Try it! Look ahead, focus on what you do well and what you could do well rather than what has gone wrong previously.

Peace and love

MrsJK