The Past Isn’t Set In Stone

I’m currently reading ​The Tainted Cup​, a fantasy detective novel.

Think “Sherlock Holmes set in Westeros.”

The main character has this augmentation that allows him to absorb every single detail of every interaction, crime scene, and then recite back these exact details at a later date.

I remember a horrifying Black Mirror episode about this very thing: being able to recall every fact of every interaction in the past.

Here’s the thing: in all of these scenarios, the facts might be true, but the analysis of these facts still leaves plenty of room for improvement.

I thought about this a lot recently when I stumbled across two stories I want to share:

“​The Past is Not True​” from Derek Sivers:

When I was 17, I was driving recklessly and crashed into an oncoming car. I found out that I broke the other driver’s spine, and she’ll never walk again.

I carried that burden with me everywhere, and felt so horrible about it for so many years that at age 35 I decided to find this woman to apologize. I found her name and address, went to her house, knocked on the door, and a middle-aged woman answered. As soon as I said, “I’m the teenager that hit your car eighteen years ago and broke your spine”, I started sobbing – a big ugly cry, surfacing years of regret.

She was so sweet, and hugged me saying, “Oh sweetie, sweetie! Don’t worry. I’m fine!” Then she walked me into her living room. Walked.

Turns out I had misunderstood.

Yes she fractured a couple vertebrae but it never stopped her from walking. She said “that little accident” helped her pay more attention to her fitness, and since then has been in better health than ever.

Then she apologized for causing the accident in the first place. Apologized.

And this ​story about “the good ole days”​ from author Morgan Housel:

A few months ago I reminisced to my wife about how awesome [life was in our early 20s]. We were 23, gainfully employed, living in our version of the Taj Mahal. This was before kids, so we slept in until 10am on the weekends, went for a walk, had brunch, took a nap, and went out for dinner. That was our life. For years.

“That was peak living, as good as it gets,” I told her.

“What are you talking about?” she said. “You were more anxious, scared, and probably depressed then than you’ve ever been.”

…In my head, today, I look back and think, “I must have been so happy then. Those were my best years.”

But in reality, at the time, I was thinking, “I can’t wait for these years to end.”

It has me thinking a lot about the past, and our future. It turns out, neither one is set in stone!

Which Past Story can you rewrite?

As the cliché goes, it’s easier to connect the dots looking backward than it is looking forward.

Is there a story from your past about a particular moment you’re still carrying with you?

Maybe it’s one full of shame about something that happened, but it led to something even better for you.

Maybe it’s longing for a past life that never actually existed.

The past already happened, but that doesn’t mean it’s set in stone!

Returning to Sivers:

“You can change your history.

The actual factual events are such a small part of it. Everything else is perspective, open for re-interpretation.

The past is never done.”

I’d love to know which story you’re telling yourself about the past, good or bad, that you’re deciding to rewrite?

-Steve

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