Second chances

I'm going to start with the age old, clichéd question. Does everybody deserve second chances? My answer: Yes, but within reason. But this is not what this blog is going to be about. Let me ask another question:

Do you think YOU deserve a second chance? Not from someone else, but from yourself.

We've all  I've disappointed many, many people. Friends, family, colleagues, even people I don't know who I have affected in some way. I've apologized to all of them and they've all forgiven me full heartedly. How do I know this? They still trust me with everyday work that involve them too. And I appreciate them so much for this.

But somehow at the end of the day, there's a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I can't get out no matter how much I try. I'm disappointed with myself. Disappointed with all my failed attempts at whatever it was I was trying to do, disappointed with all my failed attempts at school and of course disappointed at all my failed attempts at relationships.

Then I'll spend sleepless nights thinking about all these failures. Now I'm sure I'm not the only that does this. But anywho, I think about all the time I wasted. Time that I wished I could somehow get back. I think about all the decisions I made. Decisions that I wished I could somehow undo. Funny thing about life is, there's no going back. Once something's done, its done. End of story. Puts you in a very stressful situation doesn't it? I mean, I don't know if I'll regret this post later on too. I hope I don't. I also hope you find some truth in here about the point that I'm going to get to.

So what is my point.

My point is, no good thing can come from thinking about your past. You get more stressed out. You waste more time. You upset yourself. And then at the end of it all, you realise, like me now, that I could've put all that time "thinking" about my past to better use. Like thinking about my future. Setting achievable goals for myself. This realisation of course only comes when you give yourself a second chance.

Yes, I've screwed up. Yes, I've done many, many things that I wish I hadn't. But I am going to give myself that second chance to prove to myself that I am worth something. That I've learnt from everything I've done, every wrong decision I made and every second I wasted. It's not easy but hey, its a second chance at regaining my self-worth. So why not take it?

I believe you are a reflection of your thoughts about yourself. And if you think you're no good then the people around you will think the same way. I learnt that the hard way.

Giving other people a second chance at redeeming themselves is a good thing. Makes them appreciate you more and it sorta guilts them in a way too, to not repeat their mistakes. So its the same for us. When we give ourselves a second chance, we're telling ourselves that we believe there's still hope for us. That its not too late to try again. And that now that we've learnt our mistakes, repeating it will be almost stupid.

I'm going to take my second chance and I'm going to make the best of it. I can't change my past so I'll make my future the best I can.

If you feel like you've been burdened by your past, take that second chance that only you can offer yourself. Take it and give yourself sweet memories instead of a haunting past.

Here's a line from a song I heard on the radio today that brought about the idea of this post:

May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground, carry on.

~ Carry On, by Fun.

What I guess it means is that, you should keep moving forward no matter what. So that when you look back on your past, you only see yourself as someone that kept "their feet on the ground" and "carried on".

Give yourself the chance to be the person you know in your heart you are.