Forgetting is a passive word in the English language. The more you try to forget something, the more you remember it. That’s why I love that the original Greek word also means to neglect. We know how to neglect stuff—we do it all the time! We neglect our bodies, our kids, our hobbies, our dreams, our plants!
You neglect something by choosing to invest your time and energy elsewhere; you don’t give something what it needs to thrive. So when the past comes calling, neglect it. Be so focused on the future, you don’t give your past what it needs to survive. The real tragedy is many people do just the opposite: they neglect the future, and nurse the past.
Think about it: Do you spend more time wishing for life to be like it was—or pressing on to a greater future? One way you can tell if you have neglected the future is by the quantity and quality of your goals. Do you spend more time dreaming and planning…or complaining and reminiscing?
To press into your future, you need to forget the past. The greatest lives are shaped by the greatest goals.
