I am currently reading Contaminated cupA fictional detective novel.
Think “Sherlock Holmes is set in Westeros.”
The main character has this enhancement that allows him to absorb every detail of every interaction and crime scene and then re-read these minute details later.
I remember terrifying Black mirror An episode about this very thing: the ability to remember every fact from every past interaction.
Here's the thing: In all of these scenarios, the facts may be true, but analyzing those facts still leaves a lot of room for improvement.
I've been thinking about this a lot recently when I came across two stories I want to share:
“The past is not trueFrom Derek Sivers:
When I was 17, I was driving recklessly and crashed into an oncoming car. I found out that I had broken the other driver's spine, and she would never be able to walk again.
I carried this burden with me everywhere, and I felt so bad about it for so many years that at the age of 35 I decided to find this woman and apologize. I found her name and address, went to her house, knocked on the door, and a middle-aged woman answered. As soon as I said, “I'm the teenager who hit your car eighteen years ago and broke your spine,” I started crying — a big, ugly cry that brought to the surface years of regret.
She was so sweet, and hugged me and said, “Oh my love, my love! Don't worry. I'm fine!” Then she took me into her living room. He walked.
It turns out I had misunderstood.
Yes, she broke two vertebrae, but that did not prevent her from walking. She said that “this simple incident” helped her pay more attention to her fitness, and since then she has been healthier than ever.
then I apologized To cause the accident in the first place. I apologize.
And this A story about “the good days” From the author Morgan Housel:
A few months ago, I reminisced to my wife how wonderful life was in our early 20s. We were 23 years old, gainfully employed, and living in our version of the Taj Mahal. This was before kids, so we would sleep in until 10 a.m. on the weekends, go for a walk, have brunch, take a nap, and go out to dinner. That was our life. For years.
“That was the pinnacle of life, as good as it could be,” I told her.
“What are you talking about?” she said. “I was more anxious, afraid, and probably depressed than ever before.”
…In my head, today, I look back and think, “I must have been so happy then.” Those were my best years.”
But actually, at the time, I was thinking: “I can't wait for these years to be over.”
It made me think a lot about the past and our future. It turns out that no one is set in stone!
What past story could you rewrite?
As the popular saying goes, it's easier to connect the dots when you look back than forward.
Is there a story from your past about a specific moment that you still carry with you?
Maybe you are full of shame about something that happened, but it led to something better for you.
Maybe it's nostalgia for a past life that never actually existed.
The past has already happened, but that doesn't mean it's engraved in stone!
Back to Sivers:
“You can change your history.
Actual real-life events are a small part of it. Everything else is a perspective open to reinterpretation.
The past never ends.”
I would like to know what story you tell yourself about the past, good or bad, that you decide to rewrite?
-Steve
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