March 8, 2026- The past is done

In life, it doesn’t matter what happens to you or where you came from. It matters what you do with what happens and what you’ve been given.

~Ryan Holiday

The past is done. We’ve done some things we are proud of and some things of which we are not. We’ve experienced some good fortune and we’ve overcome some circumstances that were challenging. We have no control over any of that. We can reflect on it. We can use it to inform future decisions. We can use our past struggles as proof that we can survive hardship.

As we move into the present, we still control very little. Even if we have a position of authority, we do not truly control anyone’s actions, but our own. We can spend our days fretting about all those factors in our lives that are outside the scope of our power, or we can focus squarely on that which we do control – our own choices.

We cannot be defined by our circumstances, unless we wish to be. The universe cannot strip us of our will, nor our hope; these things can only be given away freely. We have seen examples of those who seemingly had every reason to give up, yet they rose to every challenge and persevered. They did that one choice at a time, and we can, too.

When the deck is truly stacked against you, that is an opportunity to prove how good you are at playing cards. You have overcome struggles before, and you can do it again. Rise one more time then you fall.