I think about yesterday more than I should. I should learn from my past, not revel in it.

Instead I just find myself thinking sage thoughts of self pity.

• I would handle that situation better today.
• I can’t believe how naive I was.
• I won’t let another opportunity like that pass me by.
• Next time I will speak up.

All of these would’ve could’ve’s revolve around a lack of experience. The quirky thing about experience is that at no point in my life will I be less experienced today than I was yesterday.

That can be a comforting thought. However, just like the recollection of who dumped who in middle school, there are two sides to this story.

I fancy myself as a pint half-full kind of guy. The thought of being the most experienced in my life at this very moment should instill confidence, optimism, and hope that I’m doing the right thing going forward.

Yet, I can lack confidence when looking towards the future because at this precise moment in time I am the least experienced I will be for the rest of my life. How does that qualify me to make major decisions with confidence, optimism, and hope?

That’s the bugger of it.

It doesn’t.

And that is scary.

So depending on how you look at it, experience can either infuse confidence and optimism or rip it to shreds. It can leave us feeling incapacitated like newton’s middle ball. Just as we start to gain insight from our past we think we might be doomed to repeat it. So instead of making a move, we just sit idle regretting yesterday and fearing tomorrow.

But that is where hope is different. Hope doesn’t live in the present, hope isn’t bound by logic’s constraint, hope is a good thing.

Experience is just the gas. Hope is the engine that drives us.

 Gif courtesy of wiki