Level Up! With Shay

Forty days ago I set forth on a journey of writing a blog every day for 100 days straight. I am forty days in and have succeeded thus far. *bows* While I still have 60 days to go, the 40th one is very important to me. At the beginning of this “challenge” I admitted I was a little nervous and scared because a little over 4 years ago when I first moved to Los Angeles, I decided I would write a blog for my first 40 days. This number was specific because I had booked an Air Bnb for the first 40 days I was in LA. I’d have to check just to make sure how many days I wrote in a row, but I can tell you, it was less than 20. I stopped. I just STOPPED. I don’t know why, but I can tell you it was probably a mixture of not thinking I could do it, the fact that not a lot of people were reading (which, thank you to the people who were. I owe you a lot), and unfortunately my past track record of quitting a lot of things I started. Which gets me into the main question of this blog post…

What if the past didn’t exist? What if all the activities you started and quit, promises you made and broke, relationships you had and lost, were erased from your memory? I’m not talking about turning into dogs necessarily, but I am talking about being able to use this quality to your benefit. If I had the train of thought of “Well I tried writing a blog for 40 days straight before and that didn’t work out, so there’s no way I could do 100 days straight!” then I would have never tried this and this post and the 40 before it, would never exist.

When we get to the point where we can acknowledge that we will fail more times in our lives than we succeed, then we will be successful. We are confident in things we know we have won at before. Change a tire? Yeah I can do that! Run a mile? Yeah I can do that! Eat a whole pizza? Yeah! I can definitely do that! But when something that we have failed at before comes up… start a podcast? Well…I tried before and it didn’t go anywhere (true story). Give everything of myself to be in a romantic relationship? I’m single…you see how well that worked out! Write a blog for 40 days straight? Eh…not a memory of failure I want to live again. Why is it that we remember our failures so much more than our accomplishments? And even more, let those past failures stop us from trying again?!

A friend: I want to get on a workout routine again so I can reach my body goals
You: Yeah, you should!
A friend: Yeah, but the last time I was on one, I quit
You: Ahhh well maybe you shouldn’t start one again

Does that sound like a conversation you would have with a friend? No! So why have it with yourself? If you have an “idea” or inspiration to start something you’ve failed at before, it’s probably because you’re meant to see it through. It may have not worked out the first time, but that was just practice. And the next time you do it will also be practice for the next NEXT time you start something. The past is always just practice for the future. It is never an end-all be-all situation. NEVER! We are ALWAYS growing, moving forward, starting new projects, having new inspiration, pivoting in new ways.

Knowing and recognizing our past is there to inform us, something to learn from, not something to hold us back and make us remember our many failures. Stop using it in that negative way. Identity is the major reason why you make the choices you make. Think about it. For example, you could identify yourself as a quitter because you’ve quit things in the past. Chances are, you will quit many more things in the future because that’s just what you are – a quitter. But what if we thought of our identity with a more forward-thinking mind than focusing on the past? You may think “Well, sure I have quit in the past but I have the choice to make right now to not make those same decisions for the future. In the future, I am a person who sticks to things and doesn’t give up. And I will create that future self right now by doing what I need to do. Ie. Write this blog.

The past is important, I know. But we have to learn how to use everything, our successes and failures, for our benefit. Just because you haven’t accomplished something in the past, does not mean you cannot accomplish it now and in the future. Know who you REALLY are and believe you can.

Do you have any thoughts? Has there been something in the past holding you back from a great future? Comment below!

#LevelUp

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