In The Incredibles, Edna Mode gives us great advice in all her scenes. She is a costume designer for superheroes. When Mr. Incredible visits her to make him a new suit, she examines his old one, calls it a hobo suit, says he can’t be seen in it, and throws it in the trash. Confused, Mr. Incredible removes it from the bin and says, “what do you mean? You designed it!”. Edna replies, “I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now.”
It’s important to always be looking forward because what may have been a good option 15 years ago, might not be one in the present. Just because it worked once before should be a reason to blindly do the same thing and not explore all options.
In a previous post, I referenced one of my favorite Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes from Self-Reliance. Emerson says, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds”, meaning don’t allow your current ideas and opinions to be dictated by what you used to think. We are all allowed to evolve and change our opinions, feelings and approaches to what we do. That is the beauty of being human. As time goes on, we learn more about ourselves and grow in different directions.
Do you find yourself looking back, distracting from the now? How much have your feeling and opinions changed in the last few years?
