The “Past” Lane Leads To Heartbreak

By Ettie Rutherford
Contributing Writer

Many years ago, when my husband and I visited Italy, one of my scariest experiences was witnessing people driving in some crowded areas without proper demarcation of the lanes.

Cars were missing others by inches. Lanes, which are vital to our pathway are always needed. They help us navigate our journey and dictate how and when we arrive at our destinations.

The fast lane can be dangerous, the slow lane is tedious, and the past lane detracts from our progress. It leads nowhere, except to self-blame, delayed dreams and heartache.

There is a very good reason why the car’s rear-view mirror is smaller than the windshield. We should only look to the past to see how far we have come and the rocks and debris that we have pushed aside, but focus must be on having a clean windshield to facilitate our moving forward.

Reliving the past is not only useless, it keeps you captive to dark areas of your life and forces you to forfeit the progress, which you are capable of making, if you focus on your journey ahead.

I urge you to get out of the past lane and:
>Focus on lessons learned during life’s misadventures.
>Use past challenges to enlighten your journey.
>Obtain assistance to move forward with confidence and careful planning.
>Assist others who are trying to escape from their past lanes.
>Be grateful for small victories while keeping your eyes on the road ahead.

In Sisterhood!

Award-winning Ettie Rutherford, B.Ed, Dip.Ed, M.Ed, is an educator, life coach, consultant and author of “Why Perch Like A Chick When You Can Soar Like An Eagle?”. An accomplished public speaker, Ettie is the Founder and CEO of Women Are Worthy, which provides step-by-step strategies for women to achieve their goals, with a minimum amount of stress. She can be reached at ettie@womenrworthy.com