I recently read an article about a World War 2 soldier who was tried for war crimes after the war had ended. He was sentenced to ten years in prison, yet he felt that punishment was insufficient for what he had done. After the war was over, he lived in a small corner of his house where he had recreated the prison cell for the rest of his life.
In life, we all make mistakes. We miss opportunities, mess up relationships, do the wrong thing sometimes, and even fail people when they need us the most. For most of us, looking behind us in our life journey is often depressing in so many areas.
While I am in no way comparing your past to a war criminal, I am saying that we often find ourselves in a similar situation as far as forgiving ourselves. I have a friend who very often lives in the past, with every single current mistake being attributed to some bad thing they did years ago.
Yes, there are things that we regret and would change in an instant, but let's be honest about the fact that we can't. No amount of suffering through painful memories will ever change their outcome. They may affect how we treat people or opportunities today and may be considered learning opportunities, yet constantly reminding ourselves about our failures isn't healthy for growth.
It doesn't take long for even the most confident person to become beaten down if they constantly replay their mistakes. You can never move forward by constantly looking behind.
Learn to forgive yourself and move forward. Don't live in a self-imposed prison of your past mistakes. Learn from them, don't repeat them, and make up for them. Any of those would be acceptable. Limiting your future because of your past is unacceptable.
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