Can ripping off a rear view mirror really make you never look back?
A news story came out a couple of days ago about Jimmy Butler, the Chicago Bulls basketball player. He said he literally pulled the rear view mirror off his car because he doesn’t want to look back. He stated, “It’s because I don’t ever want [the past] to define me.”
The concept is great in theory. Ripping your rear view mirror off of your car so you cannot look back does not work in reality. If anything, he just made himself a hazard to other drivers when he is on the road.
Your past does not define you, it shapes you. Every experience you have shapes you to be the person you are and the person you are becoming.
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Every person has a worldview. A loose definition of a worldview is your framework or ideas about the world. It is one’s background, beliefs, experiences, values, and inherited characteristics combined together that makes your worldview.
Your past, your worldview, shapes you.
Jimmy Butler may not want to look back or remember his past, but it is a part of who he is. And that is a good thing.
Your past is a part of who you are. But it does not define who you are. If you had a rough past and you do as Jimmy Butler did, your past can shape you to become a better version of yourself. As Jimmy stated, he worked hard to get where he is here. His past shaped his actions which in turn has helped him get to the place he is in.
Your past shapes your behaviors and actions. If you don’t like who you were or who you are, then you can choose to rewrite your future. You can take steps and make goals to become the person you want to be.
Your past does not define you, it shapes you. It shapes the person you are becoming.
Are you becoming who you want to be?
Here’s to the Journey!
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Stephanie – this is a great article. I loved how you gave us something to shoot for with our past… It would shape us. I was fired from a job unjustly and as much as that still hurts and confuses me the termination did not define me, but it shaped my desire to create a company where people are hired to thrive in their skill level position. It shaped my choices!
Well done and thanks for sharing!
Thanks for reading Dave! Good luck as you continue in your professional career. This bump in the road does not define you and will shape you in what you do next.