How cool would it be if you could simply staple a do-over sticker on the things you’ve done in your life that you wish you could attempt again?
I mean really, just think about how wonderful it would be if we could claim “do-over” and that thing we did, no matter how big or small or how out of bounds, would be set aside and then replaced by our second chance effort!
In golf, this is called a mulligan and when you use your mulligan, you literally erase a bad shot and proceed as if it never happened. But life is a tad different from golf because in life our “bad shots” burn memories into our minds and sometimes into the minds of the people in our lives as well.
And let’s face it, it’s hard to benefit from a do-over if the parties involved don’t agree to erase the initial act … whatever it was.
But here’s the deal, you can decide to give yourself a do-over at any point in time. You don’t need anyone’s permission or blessing. Oh, I know it would be nice if you could get that from them, but let’s be clear – you don’t have to have it in order to change the course of your life. YOU and YOU alone are the only one who can change the course of your life.
Think about it … Who makes your choices? And who acts on your choices once you make them?
YOU. Only YOU.
And that is a beautiful thing.
No, a do-over doesn’t necessarily mean that your slate is wiped clean leaving no evidence of the initial act. Even the blouse that came back from the cleaners with the do-over sticker that you see above had a stain on it where the machine melted one of my buttons. There was definitely residue leftover from the initial act, but there was a second attempt and in that second effort, things got better.
Things can always get better. If you feel less than great about anything you’ve done or left undone in your life, I encourage you to give yourself a do-over. Not as a way of escaping responsibility for your actions. Not at all. But rather as a way of fully embracing where you are right now, knowing that YOU got you here and accepting that only YOU can move yourself closer to the life you want with your next choice…and the one after that…and the one after that.
Maya Angelou said, “When you know better, you do better.” You can choose, right now, to use what you know about the person you most want to be and move in that direction.
What you do next matters…