Sometimes you need to take a look back at the old you and say thank you. Thank you, self, for the times we had to bump our head, it made us wiser. Thank you, self, for those mistakes, it made us stronger. Thank you, self, for trying to do it on our own, it made us appreciate God more. Thank you, self, for thinking you could not because it made us do it. Thank you, self, for the ruined relationships because it made us love us more. Thank you, self, for those nights you talk us through it. Thank you, self, for those times you didn’t let no hinder us. Thank you, self, for not believing what ‘they’ said. Thank you, self!
Sometimes, you just have to thank old you! Now, this isn’t for those of us who are stuck where we were last year, last week or even last night. But this is for the person who wakes up competing with nobody but self. See, I’ve found that when I compete with myself to be better than the person I was yesterday, I won’t have time to compete with you. When I strive to be better than the me of last year, I just may accomplish something I’ve been putting off. When I take the time to thank selfish me, I can then give to folk who I know won’t pay back. When I take the opportunity, every now and then, to thank the old me, it is then I forgive the old me while sweeping away the remnants of who I used to be. That way, when you try to use my past against me, it won’t bother me. That way, when you try to deny the new me because of the old me, I won’t be defeated. That way, when you shut the door in the face of the new me because of what you heard about the old me, I can walk to the next one and knock again. When I thank the old me, you can no longer us old me against me. When I thank the old me, I’ll remind myself of who I used to be while striving to never be her again. When I thank the old me, it’ll refresh my memory of Isaiah 43:18 that says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”
Lakisha, the Author 