Not the Person I Used to Be

"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

– Søren Kierkegaard

I used to be a jock and all I cared and talked about were sports. Oh, and drinking. I used to drink a lot too.

Then, I realized that I didn't want to be that guy anymore. I realized there were other things more interesting than sports and beer. Stuff I could learn about and endeavors I could contribute to.

So I expanded my horizons. I sought out new adventures, new communities, new relationships, new sources of inspiration, new ideas, new perspectives.

I grew and developed and explored and searched and wandered and traveled and all the other synonyms in the thesaurus.

I read. I listened. I watched. I immersed. I noticed.

I discovered my values and principles and ethics. And I cultivated them and nurtured them and honed them and began to live by them.

I examined who I used to be, who I am, and who I wanted to become.

I self-reflected. I contemplated. I became more self-aware. I self-actualized.

I learned from my mistakes. I evolved my consciousness. I discarded what didn't work. I borrowed and adopted and refined and elevated and added what I thought would make me a better version of myself.

I'm not the person I used to be. But I sure did learn a hell of a lot from that guy.