If there is one thing I know to be true in this life, it is this: you will keep repeating the same mistakes until you finally learn your lesson.
Even when you learn your lesson, you will be tempted to repeat it until you come to terms with the fact that mistakes are choices. You can choose not to repeat your past. Welcome to 2010.
A new year means a fresh beginning. I am committed to celebrating the year 2010 as a life cleanse, a sort of “out with the old, in with the new.” Sometimes the things we hold on to, either figuratively or emotionally, hold us down. I’ve learned that lesson. Drop the baggage.
To be sure I stay on this path, I am committing to one simple goal: this year I will love myself. It should be simple and yet, I’ve proven many times that it is not. But I’m going to start a revolution here. I challenge you to consider this an invitation to love your own self too. In fact, I dare you.
Where do we begin? Look backwards. One of my biggest obstacles for moving forward is being tied to the past. Everyone has suffered an injustice in their life, absolutely everyone. Call it a skeleton in the closet, a jilted romance, family drama or something darker. Whatever it is, it holds us back.
Enter the concept of forgiveness. I now know that to forgive does not mean to forget. Forgiveness is like taking that cough medicine that says, “It tastes awful, but it works.” True enough. Hardships leave a bad after-taste, but forgiveness is not a bitter pill to swallow.
It has taken me years to fully grasp that to forgive does not mean to excuse or deny. No way. It’s bigger than that. Forgiving an injustice done to you is about the ultimate act of self love. It is a choice to wholeheartedly refuse to be held back any longer by your own anger or someone else’s mistake. You heal yourself and let the universe take care of the rest. No more dramatic reruns. It’s about stepping out of the past and into a new future.
And these boots were made for walking, baby.
Now for the hard one: cut out the negative. Clearing the mind means clearing the path. Despite my desire to see the good in everyone, I have finally learned that this does not mean that everyone is good for me. Cherish your true friends and rid yourself of the hangers-on. Self love means being surrounded by the people who love you back. Don’t settle for less.
This is the year I will cure myself of what I call the “please disease.” It has taken me a lifetime to learn that I don’t have to make everyone else happy, I don’t have to be liked and I don’t always have to do what I’m told. I am the antibiotic for my own illness. Let the healing begin. I prescribe that you do the same.
What’s the hardest lesson I promise not to repeat? That’s easy: I promise not to forget who I am and what matters most to me.
This is my life, my way. It’s not arrogance, it’s not even confidence. It is just that sudden awakening that I have one kick at this life can. I plan to score a goal.
Don’t take my word for it. Try it yourself.