The past does not define you, the present does.
– Jillian Michaels

Who you were and what you did are in the past.  It’s not the then but the now that matters. If you’ve made mistakes in your past, it’s okay.  When you think about it, who hasn’t messed up at some point in the past.  You have to move forward from them and create a new and better future for yourself.

I make mistakes all the time.  I sometimes look at my own kids and wonder how in the heck they turned out okay because I messed up a lot as a parent. But every time I made one of those parenting mistakes, I had to make a decision.  I learned from it, and I moved on.  The learning is the big piece.  Learn from your past, if something worked, do it again.  If it didn’t work, figure out why, how you can fix it and move on.

I know, you’re probably thinking there are some things in the past that are too big to come back from.  I really don’t think that’s the case.  No matter what the mistake, if you’re truly repentant and do your best to make amends, you’re good.  Will everyone forgive you?  Probably not, but you’re not living life to get approval and acceptance from others. Well you shouldn’t be, anyhow.  Life your life for you.  Let go of the mistakes that you have made.  Don’t get mired in the past.  It happened, and it’s over. Let it go and move on.  Who you are now and what you’re doing now define you. Not what you may do in the future, and not what you did in the past.  It’s not the then, but the now that matters.  Make it count.