I was reading recently that you have to take responsibility for your attitude and for your success. I needed something to get me out of the “blame game” and by reading this book I began trying to toss out the emotional baggage and attitudes that were holding me back.

As I reviewed the major experiences of my life…turning points… I recognized how the choices I had made at each point hadshaped my life afterwards. I realized I needed to make those turning points learning points. Instead of beating myself up over mistakes I have made or the losses I have experienced I decided to resolve to learn from them and move on. Sure, it’s easier said than done in many instances, but it’s a much more constructive way to deal with life’s ups and downs.

We are not permanently burdened with the baggage of our pasts. We can leave that luggage behind. It’s ok to clean out that suitcase and take the good stuff that wears well…the happy memories, the joy of a first love. But the rest of it…the sad times, the loneliness, the broken heart, rejection, fear…we don’t need that emotional baggage. Leave it on the doorstep of the past, and step into the future. History does not have to repeat itself, not if we adjust out attitudes by turning away from the doors that are closed and walk through the doors that are opened to opportunity.

God is always so proud of us when we decide to seek the life he wants for us. He doesn’t want us to waste our lives always looking backwards…it’s to the present and to the future that we should look forward to.

© Copyright 2003, Sandy Fulton
Used by permission
www.sandyfulton.ibelieve.com

Return to Quiet Reflections (click here)