20/20 Hindsight

Experience brings perspective. Prior to having experienced something, we may have some grandiose ideas about what it is all about. Everything is more involved than we understand it to be, until we experience it. Once we experience something, then we gain a new perspective. 

Here are some examples of experiences we can grow from:

If you are thinking about a career and imagining what it would be like, the best way to find out is to either talk to somebody that works in that field or try to get some experience in that work environment. 

If you've ever been in a toxic or (bad) relationship and come out of it recognizing all the bad or toxic qualities of the other person, you will be able to know what those 'red flags' are and not choose your next mate with those qualities. 

Taking the time to be single after a breakup can help us realize that we don't need a mate at all. Being alone can help us understand our true worth so if we do decide to be in a relationship, we can choose a partner who sees and respects our value.

Our experiences shape us. We can allow them to make us bitter and resentful when things don't go the way we planned. If we do this, we are holding ourselves back from learning about our wants and needs.

Alternatively we can take full advantage of the lesson we learned.

We can use those bad experiences to teach us and help us grow. 

There is a perspective that I love: 20/20 Hindsight. This perspective in a nutshell means that prior to doing something, we don't have all of the information to see it clearly; however, once it's done, we can see it clearly and see what lessons we learned.

If we can take the lessons, we can learn and grow by:

• Learning what we do want
• Realizing how strong we are
• Increasing our empathy level
• Understanding that life is short and we should enjoy what we do

Let's reframe those negatives experiences to lessons we can be grateful to have learned from.

Allow our experiences to give us the knowledge to shape our future and not hold us back any longer.

So... next time you experience something you don't want in life, see what lesson you learned to help you decide exactly what it is that you do want.