Lot and his family were given one very specific instruction when they were told to leave Sodom and Gomorrah. Look not behind thee. It seems like such a small request, but it would soon become clear that there were dire consequences for looking back. Though we do not turn into a pillar of salt should we look back, we can certainly face dire consequences should we do so. It is impossible to see where you are going if you are only looking back at where you’ve been. The past is meant to be learned from, not lived in. So what is the appeal of looking back anyways?
Perhaps the idea of change and the unknown is too much to handle. Humans are creatures of habit, we like what we know and we know what we like. Instead of wanting to move forward, we wish to stay in what we find familiar and comfortable. We lack the faith to keep going. Faith is a strong belief that motivates a person to act. Faith is often tied to religion or some form of belief system, but in reality, faith is a process that everyone uses daily.
We have the strong belief that by going to work we will get paid or that by going to school we will gain an education and become more successful, so we are motivated to not hit that snooze button more than twice. We have the strong belief that brushing our teeth will lead to a bright and beautiful smile, so we are motivated to take that two minutes and actually brush our teeth. Flossing though may be another story. We use faith in so many different ways, so why then is it so hard to change and move forward?
It’s so hard to move forward because lasting change is hard accomplish. This is why most of us have probably given up on our news years resolutions by now. We tell ourselves that we won’t indulge in that certain bad habit anymore or that we’re going to lose that “little” bit of weight we’ve gained, and yet here we are. Doing the same things, running the same routines, just like we always do. Sure we change for a little bit, a week, a month, maybe even two, but at some point we go back to where we were before. We go back to more of the same and keep looking behind us.
However hard the journey may be, the only choice we have is to move forward. There is no path behind us, only the path before us. So stop looking back with a longing to be there. Look to the future and the wonders that await you. The joy and happiness that comes with the knowledge that there is something more than what you were before. Each day is a new day to be your best self no matter what you were the day before. Nobody knows when the path before them ends, so love each step you take.
The Man in His Mind 