Have you ever had one of those day where it seems like nothing is going the way you planned? And all you can do is look back at the mistakes you made or could have done better?

Or have you ever looked back at moments in your life and wished that there was a button that you could push? A button that could cause you to rewind, whatever you did? Or whatever you said?

If only life really worked life that, right?

This year I’ve tried to take a novel approach to this notion. Instead of trying to change the past or run from it. Sometimes it can be better to embrace. Embrace those things that may not have worked out as planned.

Sometimes to travel forward it means taking a couple steps back...

There is a quote from one of my favorite movies My Big Fat Greek Wedding that states, “Don’t let the past dictate who you are, but let it be a part of who you will become”.

Does that mean that we should obsess and dwell over the past? No. I don’t think so. But, I think that if we should face our past mistakes and breathe life into them. Rather than carrying them like burdens on our back.

Now with all this in mind, it’s not an easy thing to do. There are many times that I may think back to little mistakes that I’ve made and shake my head. But acknowledging what we could have done instead and keeping that in mind for the next time is the first step.

American Cartoonist Bil Keane once said “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present”.