July 23, 2014

You've Changed... You Say That Like It's a Bad Thing

I saw this great quote today by Hunter S. Thompson, "Every man is the sum total of his reactions to experience. As your experiences differ and multiply, you become a different man, and hence your perspective changes. This goes on and on. Every reaction is a learning process; every significant experience alters your perspective." 

And it made me think about decisions I made when I was in my 20's and how silly I think they are now. But I embrace them all. I don't judge myself because I realize that every decision I've made led to a greater breath of experience in my life. And I'm of the opinion that the more experience you have the better choices you make in life. 

I can't even count how many times I have been told by "friends" that I have changed - which they meant negatively and I would feel so bad and guilty because I wasn't the same person they expected me to be. And then I discovered Brene Brown and I realized I am the only one allowed to make decisions for my life and no one gets to judge me for that (Brene Browners you know what I'm talking about). 

"To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.  – Henri Bergson.

I AM the sum total of my experiences and with that, I hope to continue to change throughout my life. So now when people say, "you've changed" I just say, "thank you."