“Forget your past, forgive yourself, and begin again right now.”

We tend to be the harshest critic of our own shortcomings and failures. While a little introspection is good, constantly beating ourselves up over past shortcomings and failures means constantly being stuck in the past. As a result, we’re not able to focus on the present. We become so stuck in the past that we may miss the great opportunity life gives us to learn from our mistakes and begin again.

Interestingly, at the literal center of this anonymous quote is forgiving yourself. Meanwhile, this is also central to the quote’s message. It’s only when we aren’t stuck in the past (having forgiven ourselves) that we can be “present” enough to begin again now. Moreover, what we do now affects us later. Therefore, the ability to forgive ourself is critical not only to our present but also our future.