Realizing that life’s sense of achievement comes from maintaining balance while turning pain into success, I thought I needed to expand on my recent encounter with melancholic quotes leading nowhere.

Letting go of what has passed sounds like painful defeat. We lost the battle, lost that deal, or wrecked a beautiful relationship. Most finish unhappy, reflect or log the past as unpleasant and wind up blaming some external cause for their origin of pain.

The bitter truth is life is full of pain.

I had it, you had it, so did Gandi, Nelson Mandela, Beethoven, or even Steven Jobs. The difference is what you do with it. If we understand pain is part of life which can be an invitation for reflection and change, then defeat becomes an opportunity to realign our mindset. We don’t let go of the past but instead let go of our own ambitions to protect our ego. It needs no protection; it is there to keep us going. It is solid and hungry for success. What it does require, however, is direction. Using pain, frustration, or defeat as a reboot tool can work wonders. It is that moment when we are open towards personal growth. It contains a healthy balance of energy conversion. Converting desperation into inspiration or neglect and omission into opportunity.

So let’s look at this quote again.

Indeed the past year had its bumps. Letting go of the blame game and accepting those bumps as growth marks creates gratitude for the process and appreciation for what has survived. Integrity, perhaps a different deeper relationship, or another viewpoint has emerged for that project you have been working on. Without knowing it, your perspective has changed, as has 2021 to 2022. We become grateful because we again are curious about what challenges await in the future. We are again creative with our intelligence and look forward instead of mourning the past.