Dear Me,

 “No matter what happens, keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you find that you have accomplished a purpose—not the one you began with, perhaps, but one that you will be glad to remember.”

-Helen Keller

Dear Me,

how often do we dismantle what we have build, do we start again, so that we may build it stronger, better, more properly? Sometime this is by choice. Sometimes we feel forced to do so; a reluctant necessary. Going backwards, starting again, is often viewed with such negativity. We demand of ourselves such perfection. Starting over, setbacks, correcting mistakes, they are so often viewed with such shame and fear and sense of waste.

Perhaps it reminds us too much of our childhood, of youthful inexperience, when such a task was normal. How often were we told to go back and try again when we didn’t get it right the first time. How often were we told to do it again, and this time properly when we rushed it, did it carelessly. How often did we come to the wrong conclusion and have to trace ours steps backwards to where we made the mistake that cascaded through the sequence after. This was normal. We were learning.

We ARE learning. ALWAYS learning. Or have we stopped learning? have we stopped taking the risks of learning? Those actions associated with the possibility of mistakes? When was the last time you made a mistake? When was the last time you viewed your mistakes as simply learning? When was the last time you took that mistake and traced it back to where it went wrong and started over from there?

Never forget that growth and progressive movement comes with risk; comes with the risk of mistakes, comes with the need to move backward in order to move forward. Never be ashamed or afraid of this, for this IS growth, this IS progress, this IS success.

–Dear Me Original Thought

Dear Me,

“All big things come from tiny beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision; one that is repeated and gets stronger, it’s roots entrench themselves and branches grow.” – James Clear

What tiny beginning, what small decision, needs your making now? That small effort, when done today, when repeated tomorrow, when instilled through habit over the next month, will root itself deep, grow strong, and become the larger thing you yearn for? What tiny beginning? What Small Decision?

-Dear Me

Dear Me,

In the wise words of Jim Rohn:

All of us, whether rich or poor, young or old, educated or not educated, are the sum total of all of those people and events that have touched us since first entering the world. Every thought we’ve entertained has had its effect upon what we are now. Every movie we’ve watched had its effect. Every book or magazine we’ve read had its effect. Every TV show has had its effect. Every disappointment, triumph, doubt, dream and love for someone each had their effect. What we are and what we have, we have slowly brought upon ourselves. It is the human tendency to blame someone or something else for our lack of progress—we blame government, competitors, managers, inflation, pay schedules and even the traffic and weather for our circumstances.
Those people and events which have left their mark—whether favorable or unfavorable—are now behind us. What happened even as recently as yesterday is no longer of any consequence, unless we choose to allow it to be. What is of great importance is who and what it is that leaves its mark today, and each day thereafter. What we have been is an established and unchangeable fact. What we can yet become is an unlimited, boundless opportunity. Therefore, do not allow your awareness of past difficulty or failures to adversely affect your current and future possibilities. The greatest value of the past is how wisely we invest it in the future. Let the past be a servant for making the future both more enjoyable and profitable.