You are not defined by your past
You are defined by what you do today
Raw and Real conversation
Let’s be honest.
When you read the title of this post, did you also think it would mean:
“Your past may have been bad, but your future could be great.”
If you are nodding and smiling, you are not alone my friend.
In almost all contexts, we all make the past the culprit. Been there, done that.
However, today, I want to take a spin.
Let’s go:
Last week, I came across an old journal of mine.
It is not the usual journal where we record our thoughts, vent out, etc.
Rather it is the journal where I used to maintain a log of my workouts in the gym. From 2019.
Here’s a sneak peek:
However, why am I sharing this with you?
Because as of now, my records look very different.
The weight has reduced in some exercises and increased in others. For example, my current squats are only 20kgs and deadlifts are only 25kgs. These are nothing as compared to the past.
Here is what led to these changes:
My life went through an array of changes. Job change, designation change, and multiple change points in the business.
Also went through some depressive period of life. (All good now.)
All of this affected the body, and there were days I did not feel my best. I am glad I stuck to what James Clear said “be the kind of person that shows up”.
There were a lot of times when I would do a workout with just 4kg-10kg range during these times. Workout with less weight is much better than no workout with more weight.
As of now, I am slowly progressively overloading the weights. And it is getting better. The last few weeks have shown a remarkable improvement.
However, it is important for me to share this “decline” because:
Life doesn’t always follow a linear pattern. The pattern is in zigs and zags, that none of us signs up for. Nonetheless, they are the signs in our journey. That we showed up. That we continued despite being conned by life. That we were there for ourselves regardless. As Steve Jobs said, you can only connect the dots looking forward.
You gotta be the kind of person that shows up, no matter what. You will not be your best on all days, but to be at your worst and to show up has advantages that no one sitting on the fence for the right time will be able to tell you.
The body is more helpful to you than you think. But you have to listen to it first, and not push yourself so much on days it has given up mentally and emotionally.
We all talk about “move on from your past”, especially if it holds some negative memories. What if: Move on from your past, even if it holds some positive memories. Like this log book picture I shared. It is so easy for me to beat myself up or worse, go straight to these past weights, without progressively overloading. It will not only hurt my body, it will also hurt my motivation and love for working out. Create your today, not your past. No matter how good or gross it was. And you will create a world where your present is the best.
If you stay stuck to “I used to be/do this”, you will forever follow a past version of yours for your future. On the other hand, if you stay true to the process, get better every time, you free yourself from what you used to be.So you could become what you could become.
Lastly, I really hope you don’t think this log to believe “it’s okay to go backward in life or be okay with less”. I don’t think so in any aspect of life. However, I do believe and have come to know through enough trial and even more errors, that the only way to grow is to start small, continue with consistency, and be your own best friend instead of your worst enemy.
To summarise, it all boils down to this:
We ought to move on not only from a poisonous past, but also from a pristine past.
Life changes all of the time. Dance with it instead of denying it.
Zooming out, the only person that wins is the person that shows up even on days it was least expected to. Showing up is the OG cheat code of life.
2 Raw one-liners:
Sometimes holding on to our past is a clutch. You need to release it in order to accelerate.
So what if they underestimate you? So what if they overestimate you? None of it defines what you think of yourself.
3 Real gratitudes:
To fit well into clothes of the past era of lifting more weights :) Consistency does help :))
To you all, who are reading this. Your email responses of how it helped you say “I was going through the same” makes me feel so humbled. Thank you, my friend.
To get to write. Because writing = thinking. And wise people don’t outsource thinking to ChatGPT.
That is it my friend.
I hope you are able to move on from your past, and morph a powerful present. That is the best present for your future :)
See you next week.
Stay raw, stay real, and never stop reading.
Nishtha Gehija
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Instant access ebooks for your reading, and spend some time with yourself:
The Corporate Life Handbook: The book everyone working a corporate job needs :)
The Career Changing Guide: My bestseller so far :)
How to Deal with Heartbreak: Because, life happens :(
Every Writer Needs to Read this: I wish I had this one, when I was starting out as a writer
This is What You are Looking for (Paperback): Small Life Lessons for a Happier Life