When I was young I had the opportunity to drive a cotton harvesting truck. A friend of mine had a farm which grew cotton and it was harvesting time. The truck was loud, burdensome and difficult to control. One had to drive very straight for the truck would pick several rows of cotton at a time. Much easier said than done! Think of driving a power steering vehicle which has lost its power steering!
I thought I was doing a great job keeping the truck steady and centered between the rows. But…at the end of the row I turned back only to see how much I had veered off course creating a crooked path and leaving patches of cotton unpicked. My friend, proficient in cotton harvesting, laughed, but I was discouraged. In the moment I thought how good a job I was doing…but at the end saw how wrong I was…it made me reluctant to try the next rows.
It’s helpful to learn from our mistakes, but if discouragement from past mistakes hinders our moving forward…something is amiss. Often I hear from others…”I’ve tried that before – it didn’t work.” And yet wisdom is gained from the “tried that before” so the trying again WON’T be the same. Instead of dwelling on the past, one can step forward with the wisdom in hand of the “tried in the past” and with courage try again. The “trying again” will never be the same as the “tried in the past” — it’s time to see the “tried that before” defeatism for what it is and not allow it to sabotage your tomorrow.
