Were Your Younger Years A Complete Waste?

Let me ask you something frank.  Was the awkwardness and uncertainty of puberty the most favorite time of your life?  Did you enjoy the pimples, the raging hormones, and the scary “not understanding my situation” parenting?  Do you think your life would have been any different if you skipped it all?  Perpetually an undeveloped person?

Regardless of whether or not you had a choice to physically grow up – you did.  You went through a biologically necessary step to move toward non-teendom.  You grew up and changed because you had to.  Your past brought you to the present. Chances our your personality changed a lot, too. It’s worth taking a test to see where you’re at.

As far as growing up, there can be no other way.  Your past actions, decisions, and thoughts have made you what you are today.  They weren’t ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – no judgmental thoughts needed.  They just got you here.  Good, bad, or indifferent.  They were necessary steps to make you – you.

Sure, you could have learned about Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends & Influence People” back in 7th grade and skyrocketed your public speaking career.  But you didn’t.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It’s just a fact.  A fact about your past.  You also didn’t win the lotto or travel to Rome, yet.

You Always Make the Best Decisions You Can – Now Move On

I remember when I first starting trying to learn woodworking.  I had a hand-me-down miter saw, a hacksaw, plastic level, and a sander.  I was a little nervous at first, but I did a decent job making simple furniture, shelves, and the likes.

I did the best I could with the tools I had available to me at the time.  Sure, I started reading up about this vast subject.  I quickly picked up a table saw, made a bunch of jigs, drill-press, work-bench, router, et cetera, et cetera.  My furniture quality greatly improved.

The next time you find yourself mentally wandering back to a time when you did something “less-than-optimally,” (read: sucky) think about this.  You did the best you could with the tools you had available at that time.

This makes sense, doesn’t it?  If you had a clearly better option, or you were in better control of your emotions, and you had a better idea of how to make the world a better place – you probably would have done it differently.  This is always a true statement.  You are not perfect and thereby always have room to grow.

Accept the past results, get new tools, and start making yourself better, now. Take the strengths test and grow from there.