Good guess

You can’t know before you know

Have you ever read a book set in the 1800s that was too clearly written by a modern author? Their characters are much more evolved than they should be. They are politically correct, feminist, and way too woke for the era they are supposedly from.

Or have you watched a period movie but been distracted by the mismatch of the main character? Her hair is perfectly highlighted, she has Botox, lip filler, and a lash lift.

Or, even worse, have you looked at posts you made five years ago and cringed as you watch yourself be confidently wrong?

I think that we look just as silly when we judge our past selves with the hard-earned wisdom that we have today.

Once we break free of chains that held us tight for too long, it’s easy to berate our past self for delaying decisions that seem so obvious now.

“WHAT are you doing? Leave him!”

“QUIT that job!”

“STOP shrinking yourself!”

“GET out of bed!”

We shout at a version of us who was younger, more afraid, and less aware than we are now. We forget that they were the one who got you to this very moment. They were keeping you alive, keeping you safe, until you could clear the smoke from your eyes and see the truth.

The most gentle interruption of those reruns of regret is to look at that version of yourself and gently tell them:

“GOOD guess! It was a good guess!”

Because really and truly, if you knew better, you would have done better in those moments. But you didn’t yet. And now you do. So now you will.

We can’t know before we know.

We can’t see before we see.

Forgive yourself for getting here right on time, and not a moment too soon.

It was a good guess, it really was.

Now, let’s try something new.