Quote

Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.

Denis Waitley

Real Life

Former tennis player, Roger Federer, had a truly impressive career. His reign as world Number One went for 310 weeks. He won 20 Majors titles including Wimbledon eight times and the US Open five times.

Recently when speaking to a group of graduates, Federer acknowledged that while he won nearly 80% of all his singles matches, his percentage of points won in those matches was far lower: 54%. Federer mentioned these stats because he wanted to illustrate the necessity of letting both past successes and past failures stay behind you, so that you can be truly focused on the present moment. Federer said that “when you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot.”

Sport is full of big moments and when we are in the midst of those moments, they can be consuming. It can be hard to flush them, to step past them and let them go. However, as Federer says, it is key that we do so.

The same can be said in life. While we need to learn from mistakes and allow ourselves to celebrate victories, to stay living in those moments is costly. It costs us the ability to fully invest in the present. When we make a mistake, in sport or in life, we need at some point to reflect on it, but to continually beat ourselves up about it does us no good. In the same way, when achieve a satisfying success we should celebrate that moment, but to continually focus on it, robs us of seeing the next opportunity.

The bible tells us that we are not to dwell on the past (Isaiah 43:18). The word ‘dwell’ represents the concept of living there. The bible does not say we should pretend the past didn’t happen, it simply says we shouldn’t live there. God is a god who wants to take us forward, who wants to help us to grow and develop. We can only do that, when we release the past.

Bible Verse

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!

Isaiah 43: 18-19

Prayer

Lord thank You for Your desire for me to move forward with eagerness, ready to face the next opportunity or challenge, with You.

Author: Sarah Auld   |   Content Editor: Phil Pawley