Honoring What Was While Shifting Into What’s Next

In another blog titled ‘What Does Moving Forward Actually Look Like?’, we discussed moving forward and what that entails. If you haven't had the chance to read that blog yet, one key part of the moving forward process is honoring what you’re moving forward from. That’s a skill needed as you go through life.

As we enter our 20s and 30s, a lot changes.

We get out of college, move away from our hometowns, start our careers, and find our way in life.

We have to find a way to honor our younger/college selves while finding and shifting into our adult/mature selves. That’s something that everyone goes through, and it’s a tough experience. 

One thing my friend group is experiencing now is that we're growing apart from each other. We are in our early 20s and have been friends since middle school. Friend groups from grade school usually don’t survive college, but ours did. Now that we’re out of college and are doing our own things, we might be starting to grow apart. It’s not that we aren’t friends anymore; we are just in different areas of our lives and are on different wavelengths. 

We’re not in college anymore, seeing each other every other day at our college apartment. We’re all busy with our jobs and lives, so we barely see each other anymore. We are starting to realize that’s okay. We keep in touch with each other while we figure out and shift into our own separate lives. We still call each other for advice and hold on to the bond we created when we were inseparable. 

That’s something I think people miss the mark on. Just because you shift into something different doesn’t mean you completely drop what was. You can still move into what’s next by still honoring what was. For example, you can change into a new version of yourself and still hold on to a piece of the old you that you love. Or, you can move on to a new job and be grateful for the lessons the old one taught you. You can honor what was by taking a piece of those moments and lessons with you. 

If you want to completely cut ties, do so. But keep the good things in mind. I believe that everything you deal with in life can teach you something. That’s why honoring what was is so important, because we learn from the lessons and moments we hold onto. If you throw away all of the past, you inevitably can get stuck there without knowing it. Holding on to the good moments and lessons can help you grow into the person you want to be. 

So, when moving forward in your life and shifting into a new scene, honor what was by taking the lessons and moments with you, because that’s how we grow. Honor what was by looking at the positives and taking those with you into what’s next.