Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Looking Back

I spent some time earlier this week finally getting a bunch of articles onto my website. I had changed to a new hosting company many months ago and never got around to moving the articles. It really didn't take that long once I sat down to do it, and it was pretty interesting to read over each one as I moved it. I caught some typos that I had missed before and I noticed that themes like depression and perfectionism appeared quite often. I also noticed that I used the word "focus" quite a bit, and this was way back in 1998 or so. 

On the one hand it was a bit discouraging to see that I'm dealing with many of the same issues I struggled with about fifteen years ago, but on the other hand it was good to see what I thought back then and realize that I have grown over the years. Even though I'm dealing with depression and I still fight perfectionism, I'm a more mature person now and I'm miles ahead of where I was back when I wrote many of those articles. 

God still has things to teach me. I'm trying to be attentive and not waste this chance to figure some things out and hopefully live life even better in the years ahead. Looking back helped me to see how far I've come and shed some light on some of the issues I'm figuring out now.

I hope everyone reading this can spend some time looking back so that you can look forward with hope. Maybe you have some old journals you can look through or photo albums that remind you of who you were many years ago. At least spend some time thinking about how you used to act or react and rejoice in any improvements you've made in recent years. If you don't see much change, maybe you need the help of a good counselor so that those changes can take place. Make sure you don't get stuck thinking about the past and its disappointments. We can all move forward from wherever we're at today.

If you like this blog, you may enjoy reading my articles over at www.therobynsnest.org

Do you need to spend some time looking back so that you can move forward well? Can you see how focusing on the improvements you've made can give you hope for the future?