One of life’s greatest lessons is that yesterday is only as powerful as we allow it to be. Yesterday is an idea – a story, a movie that started and ended.

Now it’s quite possible that story that story or that ending is disappointing or it hurts to look back on. Perhaps a reminder of something that wasn’t ideal – something you want to break away from.

So the question is… why do we give that story power? Why do we relive it and create this self-inflicted wound?

See the past undoubtedly played a critical role – it brought you to where you are now… it in many ways shaped your world views, constitutes your beliefs – it was the very road to this moment and there’s value in that.

But imagine this scenario. Imagine stepping into your car, turning the keys and thinking to yourself that you can in this very moment only drive down the roads you drove on yesterday. Only associate with the street signs you know and the places you’ve already gone – your reality now is determined by the things you’ve already done so adjust and get used to it.

You would say that’s outrageous right…

Yesterday’s path has nothing to do with where I’m going now. Just like a boat’s wake trailing off behind it has nothing to do with where it’s going next – the person holding the wheel controls that.

We are saturated with so much freedom. There is so much possibility, and opportunity, and potential in front of us that we fail to see because we can’t stop thinking about that fictitious story we call yesterday. We confuse the path we took then for the one we need now – the wake from the steering wheel. What is… in that story about what was.

The gateway to change is unshackling ourselves from those imaginary monsters, and more often they’re not, the answer is in finding some solution. It’s in cutting ties with those things that no longer serve us.

Then we see the world as it truly is… them we see the magic laid out before us.

And I get that it’s easier said than done. Leaving a part of us behind hurts. Looking in the mirror and being vulnerable enough to say I can be more than this is not easy. But it’s possible.

When everything starts with how we see ourselves, and when we remain captives to the past, everything about who we think ourselves to be is outdated. We’re neglecting one of our superpowers – the perpetual ability to restart.

One of the most important conversations I’ve ever had was on this topic. It seemed trivial at the time but I was having lunch with a friend, and we’re talking and I mention to her that I’m full. And she goes, “Well then why are you still eating?” And I’m like “Coz I paid for it.” Right… I wanted to get my money’s worth.

Then she says in a very pragmatic way “Just because you paid for it doesn’t mean you have to eat it… it’s a sunk cause why don’t you move on?” And the whole thing seemed silly right… like yeah if you’re not hungry don’t – eat move on’

But in the grand scheme of things how many of us keep consuming that which does not serve us? How many of us stay too long when we should be letting go?

We let the path behind us dictate the one before us.

See there’s a tendency to overvalue what we know – to feel so invested in how things are, even when we’re not happy, or it’s not healthy that we’ll take the pain of now over the potential for something greater. And that’s precisely why the unknown is terrifying, it’s not concrete. It’s a world unsettled and men do we hate being unsettled.

But what we fail to realize is every time we close our eyes, take a breath and work up the courage to step into the unknown – to leave yesterday behind us, life gives us new pieces. It resets the stage and provides new tool tools to build something incredible, something more ideal, more conducive to our goals, our hopes and our dreams.

And the thought is:

• Well but what if things become worse than they are right now?
• What if I move forward and find myself more lost, more confused?
• What if things are more chaotic?

And that may for a moment, be true. But what we do is we adjust. We learn things we never knew. We see things through a lens that we never could, touch things we never thought existed.

It wasn’t in staying but in leaving that we rediscovered who we were meant to be… that we allowed our truest selves to flourish.

And worst case scenario, contrary to popular belief, it’s not that the world ends… no the worst case scenario should you find the courage to move forward is that you end up right back where you started – a little more confident, a little bolder, and better prepared to live this life like you never have.

All that’s needed is for you to convince yourself that there is more. You just need to taste the fruit and step into the light.

That’s the difference between reality and the story in your head. Reality, is that this world has for you everything you need to change, to grow, explore, build a life that means something. It has the support structures and the resources for you to pull yourself back up whenever you fall – to say okay that hurt but this time let’s try a different angle.

And the question is never whether the X on that treasure map exists trust me it’s there. The question is whether you can pause that story in your head – the tales of a dark, mean and scary world trying to hold you down – pause the idea that you are nothing more than the you of yesterday or how people knew you to be. Pause the idea that your are nothing more without that job tittle or relationship… that you need him/her or them in your life.

Everyday you wake up, you are a blank canvas.

Who cares about yesterday what do you want to paint now? When you walk out your front door where do you want to go now?

Step outside that circle of familiarity, see how artificial and in some cases ridiculous these boundaries are that we place around ourselves.

Life is an invitation – not a set of requirements and when you free yourself from that, not only will you feel like someone new… not only will you experience life like as it was meant to be experienced, but you will see that this world will conform to your definition.

This world wants to support you. It wants to lift you up and yeah it might be challenging and strenuous. It may force you to work harder and be braver than you’ve ever been. But it is at the end of the day your ally.

You just have to see your future self before it materializes – when no one else gets it.

So move on from all that does not serve you, break away from the old rules, regulations and guidelines.

Maybe it feels like monumental piece of your identity. Maybe right now is the only security you’ve got. Fine. But my hope is that you can respect it, and walk away. See it as the sunken cost that it is.

• Just because you paid to get there doesn’t men you have to keep paying to make wrong decisions.
• Just because it took your time doesn’t mean it’s entitled to keep stealing your time.
• Just because it’s part of your identity now doesn’t mean it must be tomorrow.
• Just because it creates security doesn’t mean it’s safe right – jails and steel bars are also incredibly secure.

Know today, we are breaking free, leaving the past in the past and setting our sight on the new horizon.

Today is the end of yesterday, and the beginning of the rest of your life!