S2E6 - The Rest of Your Story

On today’s episode of Open Your Eyes, McKay talks about getting over obstacles or mistakes in your life.  More often than not, we find ourselves looking to the past and focusing on what we could have done differently or better.  McKay argues this is harmful behavior.  The only true way to overcome the past is to accept where you are, see your current circumstance as a blessing, and look towards the future. McKay illustrates the power of leaving the past behind in his story of a skydiver’s accident that rendered her less capable of walking.  He notes that Emma could go on to live her life with an immense sense of regret or she could forgive herself, acknowledge the past, and put her energy towards writing the rest of her story.  

Where you put your focus in life is where you will go.  So if you’re constantly looking back, you will stay there, but if you look forward, you will move onward and upward.  It’s why McKay talks so much about the importance of healthy thought patterns.  He draws this episode to a close on an uplifting note:  when we look ahead and develop a positive mindset, we take control over our own destinies, so make peace with who you are and what you’ve done, and move on. 

The Finer Details of This Episode: 

• The only way out is through
• Getting over past mistakes
• Noel’s free falling accident
• Skeleton sledding
• Looking forward instead of backward
• The importance of healthy thought patterns
• How Emily Blunt overcame her stutter

Quotes: 

“Yes, she was falling. Yes, she was about to die, but she was so grateful for her life. It turned her panic to peace.”

“She now views her body so much differently. It's no longer something that defines her image, but rather a tool for her to live and enjoy the world.”

“You must learn to break with and from these thinking patterns, and close that chapter in your life.”

“In sledding, and in life, where you look is where you'll go. You see, our lives are shaped by where we look. And if you're looking back, that's where your thought patterns go. And if you're looking forward that too is where your thoughts and your life will go.”

“Aristotle famously said, ‘We are what we repeatedly do.’ Excellence then is not an act but a habit. I think the same is true of what we repeatedly think.”

“So stand at the door of your mind, and only let in what is positive and helpful.”

“Sometimes you have to follow a script.  You have to act a bit before the change you're trying to accomplish feels entirely natural to you.”

“Close that chapter in your life, and come to know the rest of your story. If you've fallen, be grateful for what you've learned, accept where you are, and move forward.”

Links:

Open Your Eyes with McKay Christensen