Your Past Isn’t A Shackle. It’s an Origin Story.

A letter to a friend.

Dear Friend,

We have something in common if you’re reading this. You have a past. I bet there are some parts of your history you keep under wraps. So under wraps that now and again, you think what would happen if someone said something about this horrible thing I’ve done. “How upended will my life be if my current friends found out about this or that.” You ask yourself.

What could it be:

• A moral failure
• a direct result of our rearing
• something sexual,
• for some of us, it’s not having finished high school or college or your doctorate-which makes you feel inadequate.

It’s true.

No matter what it is. It’s true you’ve done it, didn’t do it, fixed it wrong, didn’t fix it, broke it, stole it, lost it, lied about it, enjoyed it, cried over it, anguished the thought of your pitifulness. But your mistake being true only means something was true for a moment. You messed up. You’re not messing up at this very moment–you’re reading a letter.

But those things, those mistakes, those purposeful failures, those moments don’t have shackle you to a negative definition of yourself. Those frustrations from your past are not the full picture of who you are. You can no longer be imprisoned by the self-sabotage that is rooted in our false-negative self-talk. It’s time to change the paradigm.

You see, my friend, those things from your past that are like poison in your soul can’t kill you if you get stronger, if you don’t let them kill you.

Those moments are not your beginning and end. They are simply an origin story. Origin stories are the backstory that fuels why a character becomes who they are. Why they make the choices they make, the SACRIFICES, whether in an attempt at redemption or not. We can go one of two ways with our sorted pasts; the good and the bad. I choose the good. It is hard. It’s hard because I know I’m broken. You may be broken too, but it’s okay. Our scars are the decoration of progress. They are the calloused numb bits, that means I can handle a bit more pain than the next man. There is a utility in brokenness too.

You see, my friend, those things from your past that are like poison in your soul can’t kill you if you get stronger, if you don’t let them kill you. Paul had a problem, and he prayed to God to solve it for him. God told him no. God told Paul that his grace is sufficient for him. Paul had to learn that those things that come against him are not weapons used to tear him down; they’re weapons to be used by him (2 Corinthians 12:7–10). It’s like someone attacking you with a knife all while you were growing up, and then you get older, and you take the knife, now the blade is your weapon. Friend, I don’t know what your knife is. But it would be a horrible thing to take the blade from the perpetrator and then start to cut yourself.

Those moments are not your beginning and end. They are simply an origin story.

Well, that’s all had I had to say: Your Past Isn’t A Shackle. It’s an Origin Story. Feel empowered by what you’ve overcome. Rejoice in the fact that you are no longer the victim, bad guy/gal, sad guy/gal, you once were. Break out and be the Hero/Heroine of the story you’re writing right now. You can do it. God’s grace is enough to help you out. You got this! Be free from your past.

Sincerely,

Your Friend Sean

Hi, I’m Sean; I’m passionate about CX and Products. Over the last decade, I’ve been privileged to lead product organizations at some of the most impactful companies in the world. Mainly in the healthcare space and most recently focused on an internal platform managing work for hundreds of clinicians and care for millions of patients. SeanLAdams.com is my little corner of the internet; stop by anytime.