Never look back

I'm faced with a series of thoughts recently that has me reminding myself of one of my philosophies in life. Ever since my sophmore year I've taught myself to push the phrase "what if" out of my head. What if this had never happened? What if I had done this instead? "What if" can drive people crazy, espeically if you think about how many decisions in life you have made. I have always felt that everything happens for a reason, so wondering what if is counterproductive to my whole belief.

Lately, being my senior year and all, I find myself questioning what if a lot. To be completly honest, it all has to do with my running. I find myself wondering what if I didn't train enough this summer. I find myself wondering what if I trained TOO much this summer. I find myself wondering what if things do not go the way I am hoping they will.

Then I had a conversation with someone close to me last night and I began to listen to the way I was explaining things. While talking to this person I realized I don't wonder what if for any of these situations. Deep down I actually know the answer to all the what if questions. Deep down I'm 100% confident in my path thus far. So why on the surface am i questioning myself?

We all wonder about the what if's in our own lives. What if I hadn't broken up with her? What if I hadn't failed that class? What if I hadn't gotten that job? It is virtually inevitable not to think about the what if's, but we cannot let them inpact our future desicisons. We need to learn from the past. It is the only way we can successfully move forward, but we also have to realize we can't continue to look back. We need to learn from the past and move on. When we think of the what if's, it is like we are preventing ourselves from succeeding. We can never win if we constantly wonder if we've made the right choice.

I made a promise to myself so stop wondering and stop looking back. This is the only way I can reach my full potential. I need all pistons firing in the forward direction. We all do. If we constantly wonder or worry about the past, we can never treasure and enjoy the future.

Never look back, only hope for the future.