SHOVEL
I was working out this morning at the club I belong to on my favorite cardio equipment. This morning was a bit different for me. This area of the club is on the second floor and my equipment of preference is facing a series of windows that overlook their golf course and approximately 200 yards further out are homes. When I do my cardio, I put on me headphones, listen to my favorite music and I have a habit of shutting my eyes. Just prior to shutting my eyes I noticed out in the distance an individual that appeared to be a golf course maintenance employee walking around with a shovel. He was doing some work on the field which wasn't all that surprising because although it was the middle of winter, the weather was pretty mild. So, I started thinking about the shovel he was using. Shovels have many purposes. It can be used to dig ditches. It can be used to dig roads. It can be used to dig graves. It can be used to shovel snow. It can be used to plant beautiful gardens, etc. It can even be used as a murder weapon.
When I look back at my life, I think at everything that I have done that have led me to where and who I am today. I look back at the way I was raised and my experiences and yes, some pretty dumb decisions that I made. However, I would not change one thing. You see, my past doesn't define who I am. It has had an impact on my present life but, it's still the past and the past is gone; buried by using my metaphorical shovel to dig a grave. That part of me back then no longer exists.
I'm not delusional or in denial, but your past is expired time. It truly has no business in your present moment. Many individuals constantly live in their past. In other words, if in your past you were an illicit drug user, that doesn't mean your present or future has to be that of an illicit user, unless you allow it and unless you give it permission. You have the power to decide what your life will be from this moment going forward. I needed to let go of my past - a Latino male, raised in the ghetto, poor, English as a second language, a father who barely had four years of elementary school in his home country of Cuba, who worked and supported 6 children on a waiter's salary, a mother who stayed home raising the children the majority of the time and when she worked cleaned toilets part time, who has/had 5 siblings who none finished high school, who had an older sister who died of HIV related illness, a younger brother who was a severe alcoholic, who died of an alcohol related injury. I can keep going but it's not necessary.
I used my shovel and buried my past and decided to finish high school, college and law school to become an attorney. If I were to live in my past or better yet let my past define my future, I probably would have repeated history and lived in government subsidized housing, with a menial job, existing on government assistance, perhaps with a severe drinking problem who may be dead by now. However, that was not what I expected of myself. I used my metaphorical shovel to dig a grave and bury my past a long time ago. Then I used the same shovel to dig my road to success.
I'm not pointing this out to pull my own chain. I'm referring to my past and my present to stress to the reader that it can be done if you want to do it. I always have a tendency to see things not just with my eyes but with my mind. Seeing things with your eyes is vision. Seeing thing with your mind is insight. I hope that after reading this article you will use your metaphorical shovel to start digging your road to success.
I leave you with a quote on point. "Where you are coming from doesn't matter but where you are going does. Hence look forward and not backwards. Your eyes are placed in front of you for a reason. Your eyes only look backwards for special references. Keep your eyes on the road." Oscar Bimpong.
Just a thought.
When I look back at my life, I think at everything that I have done that have led me to where and who I am today. I look back at the way I was raised and my experiences and yes, some pretty dumb decisions that I made. However, I would not change one thing. You see, my past doesn't define who I am. It has had an impact on my present life but, it's still the past and the past is gone; buried by using my metaphorical shovel to dig a grave. That part of me back then no longer exists.
I'm not delusional or in denial, but your past is expired time. It truly has no business in your present moment. Many individuals constantly live in their past. In other words, if in your past you were an illicit drug user, that doesn't mean your present or future has to be that of an illicit user, unless you allow it and unless you give it permission. You have the power to decide what your life will be from this moment going forward. I needed to let go of my past - a Latino male, raised in the ghetto, poor, English as a second language, a father who barely had four years of elementary school in his home country of Cuba, who worked and supported 6 children on a waiter's salary, a mother who stayed home raising the children the majority of the time and when she worked cleaned toilets part time, who has/had 5 siblings who none finished high school, who had an older sister who died of HIV related illness, a younger brother who was a severe alcoholic, who died of an alcohol related injury. I can keep going but it's not necessary.
I used my shovel and buried my past and decided to finish high school, college and law school to become an attorney. If I were to live in my past or better yet let my past define my future, I probably would have repeated history and lived in government subsidized housing, with a menial job, existing on government assistance, perhaps with a severe drinking problem who may be dead by now. However, that was not what I expected of myself. I used my metaphorical shovel to dig a grave and bury my past a long time ago. Then I used the same shovel to dig my road to success.
I'm not pointing this out to pull my own chain. I'm referring to my past and my present to stress to the reader that it can be done if you want to do it. I always have a tendency to see things not just with my eyes but with my mind. Seeing things with your eyes is vision. Seeing thing with your mind is insight. I hope that after reading this article you will use your metaphorical shovel to start digging your road to success.
I leave you with a quote on point. "Where you are coming from doesn't matter but where you are going does. Hence look forward and not backwards. Your eyes are placed in front of you for a reason. Your eyes only look backwards for special references. Keep your eyes on the road." Oscar Bimpong.
Just a thought.