What Really Matters

Recently I made a simple mistake that I was pretty upset about. As I was in the middle of beating myself up about this, I had someone pose the question: “Will this matter in six months?”

This question immediately made me stop and think.

As I thought about what would matter in six months, I could see that not only would this error not matter, I probably wouldn’t even remember doing it.

But as I thought about it further, I realized that while my mistake wouldn’t matter in six months, the way I was berating myself would.

I have an old thought pattern that sometimes surfaces when I make mistakes, and even sometimes when I don’t. It says that if I was better (in so many ways), I could avoid all the pain and suffering I cause myself and others. It says, “You’re not good enough and you’re never going to be good enough.”

If I continue to think this thought without interrupting it and without redirecting it and without questioning it, I would have six more months of practice thinking I wasn’t good enough. And all the evidence of six months to prove the thought right.

And that will matter. A lot.

We think our mistakes and setbacks matter, but long-term—six months or a year from now—what really matters is what we make these mean.

Because circumstances never create our results. Thoughts do. And mistakes never prevent results. Thoughts do.

Will it matter in six months?

It depends entirely on what you think about it.

xo,

April

P.S. What result do you want in your life six months from now? Are you thinking the thoughts that will create that in your life? Sign up for a free coaching session and I’ll show you how to identify and interrupt your unproductive thought patterns so you can get exactly what you want!