DON’T LOOK BACK – LESSON NO. 1,856 FROM KHLOE

As has become somewhat of a routine, I headed out for a walk with this little precious jewel of a granddaughter, my Khloe. On this day, my little adventurer opted for a bike ride in lieu of her typical ride in the stroller to the park, then around the big lake for her Mima’s ‘training’. As is the norm this time of year (in Florida anyway) the sidewalks were dressed with large patches of dry leaves. As she rode over them, the crackling of the leaves beneath her wheels sparked enough curiosity to cause her to look back on occasion to see what affect her riding through them had on the leaves. I noticed that every time she looked back, she’d lose focus and her bike would veer into the grass on either side of the path causing her to get stuck or struggle to get back on the original course. After about the 10th time I asked her not to look back, it dawned on me that this happens to us all from time to time.

We tend to get caught up in what’s happened in the past; hurts, disappointments and even accomplishments. So often this forces us (and by forces us I mean WE OURSELVES force us) to live in the past, consumed by what’s already happened, wondering what we could have done differently on any given occasion, how we could have handled a situation differently, or in a Jorge Castanza way, I could have said this or I should have said that, endlessly submerged in regret and missed opportunities.

We all know people who even look back on accomplishments, living in the past that way, with constant TBT’s. One can be so stuck in that accomplishment that it is viewed as a ‘reached the top’ moment instead of a ‘stepping stone to what’s next’ opportunity.

Bottom line is that, in a very tangible way, I saw the perils of constantly looking back, even for a little 3-year-old on her bike. It helped me to reconsider the importance of looking ahead, maintaining our focus on the future, on what comes next for us and on how our destinies and legacies are ahead of us, not behind us.