by Jake Thompson

You Are A Different Person Than Then

“The human body essentially recreates itself every six months. Near...

“The human body essentially recreates itself every six months. Nearly every cell of hair and skin and bone dies and another is directed to its former place. You are not who you were last November.” ― Donald Miller

You are not who you were this time last year.

Did you know that every six months every cell in your body, hair, skin, bone essentially dies and another fills in its spot? Every six months. So six months ago, your body was essentially something else than it is today. Now imagine 12 months ago. A new creation, twice over.

But how often are we still living like we were 12 months ago? How often are we allowing our past to control our present?

You see, you are not who you were 12 months ago. Physically, your body has recreated so much of itself that you are a new creation. Your skin is not the same skin you had one year ago.

But why do you allow pieces of your past to control your present?

Too often in life we are controlled by what has happened, good or bad. We rest on our victorious laurels, or we wallow in the pain of our past failures. We don’t live for the today, we don’t live for tomorrow. We allow our past to control us when we are not who we were then. We are a truly different person. We are a stronger person. We are a more capable person of succeeding then we were then – yet we fail to live like it.

Our life is about growth. And one can’t grow if they are constantly looking backwards.

You can’t drive forward in a car if you spend the entire time turned around looking behind you. There is a reason your windshield is larger than your rear view mirror. It is because your eyes need to be forward on what’s ahead, what’s coming towards you, and the direction you are desiring to go.

You are not who were. For good or for bad, you are a different person. I look back to where I was a one, two, and five years ago, and where I am today. It’s difficult sometimes in the midst of a journey to view the entire journey, but the amount of growth in those short periods has been paramount because I’ve constantly kept my eyes focused forward. Like a good driver, I glance in my rearview to check the surroundings, and then turn my focus back to the road ahead.

And the same applies with you.

I used to never share myself that well. I never did video. I rarely wrote in a raw manner of life “behind the business.” I never had this opportunity to share and serve you in certain ways we do now because one year ago, the person I was wasn’t brave enough to be in front of a camera. But the person today? Absolutely is, because I am not who I was then. And you are not who you were then. You are someone better.

So know that, be encouraged by that fact. You are different than you were a year ago. And guess what, you are going to be even better and stronger in another year. Your body is going to continue to recreate itself in six months and then a year, in 18 months, in 24 months. Be encouraged by that truth.

You have so much left to live for, you have some many goals and relationships to compete for in this life. Do not focus on the past. Focus on the future. Your eyes forward toward the windshield, not the rear view mirror.

Onward.

The post You Are A Different Person Than Then appeared first on Compete Every Day.

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