As wonderful as past achievements may make you feel, they cannot compare to what you are capable of today. It’s natural to want to reflect on our previous accomplishments because they make us feel good about ourselves. We can remember the glory of the battle, the difficulties we overcame during the journey and glow with pride as we point out, “I did that.” That’s great, but the very next words out of your mouth should be, “What will I do next?”

If you are still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today. – Author Unknown

Instead of pacifying yourself with memories of what you’ve done before, you can choose to make it your mission to always keep growing, evolving and producing ever greater works. If you do this, you may be surprised to note that you rarely feel compelled to look back at your past accomplishments. Why? Because you’ll be too darn busy being productive! Rather than dwelling on your past success, let it fuel your next endeavor. Besides a feeling of pride, your accomplishments can offer something else of value: confidence to try something new! Sometimes we do just the opposite and use our past accomplishments as an excuse not to do anything more. Whether we fear not being able to top a previous victory or we simply don’t want to try, we decide it’s safer to stay where we are and bask in the afterglow. Ridiculous!

Let excitement about your next endeavor fill you up. Let it quicken your heart and flush your face as you look forward to your next phase of growth. As exciting as your past achievements may have been, they cannot hold a candle to what you will do today! When you are too old and infirm to produce any more, THEN you can look back and be proud of all you accomplished. Until then, you’re not nearly done yet. You’ve got mountains to climb, fears to face, doubts to overcome, and astounding achievements waiting to be realized. Go to it!