Moving through the Fog - Put Regret in the Closet (Part Deux)

Moving through the Fog - Put Regret in the Closet (Part Deux)

IT’S NOT THAT my hat was that expensive. But it did cost money, and well, it looked so good on me in Chicago! I had a hard time letting it go.

We do that with our mistakes. And until we do let go, we can’t really move through the fog.

So stop talking about it. Stop obsessing over it. We can’t let our failures affect our spirit, determination, and drive for a better life, a better tomorrow. We have to find the strength and our feisty inner child to overcome our disappointments. I come from a good gene pool of spirited women. When my aunt broke one of those five-and-dime Ping-Pong paddles on the backside of her ten-year-old daughter, my cousin defiantly announced, “That didn’t hurt!” I’ll tell you what doesn’t hurt—having a fighting spirit.

My determination to overcome hurt came in handy ten years later. Born an entrepreneur, I opened my first business when I was twenty, but it failed. I had borrowed $30,000—which might as well have been $3 million to me in those days. The financial debt and blow to my self-esteem were overwhelming. The failure could have paralyzed me, but I kept creeping forward . . . at 2 to 3 mph. I paid off my debt in full by selling Oldsmobiles. There I was, one of the first three women in the state of Texas selling cars—at the age of twenty-two. What was I thinking? I was thinking I had to right my wrong. The lessons I learned from that brief stint of rebuilding my self-esteem truly made me who I am today. I refocused myself to begin the slow, steady progress toward reaching my goal of owning my own business. Fifteen years later, I finally had the experience, education, determination, and contacts I needed to try my wings again. I did not let my past disappointment, failure, and regret define my future. And this time, my experience and drive worked like a charm.

Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. (Romans 15:4)

Put those regrets on the top shelf in the closet of your mind. Learn from your past, but don’t let it control your destiny. Out of sight, out of mind—unless you open the hatbox.