When you finally let go of the past, something better comes along.

Maybe. I read this quote shown above today and I thought it has got it ass-backward. Why?

There are some serious problems with this approach to thinking. One never lets go of the past. We live and work with it. And it’s always part of us.

Something better also just does not come along. It’s all around you if you just cared to look. And you know how to look and what to look for.

This quotation is based on sequential industrial era process-centric thinking. Do one thing first and then the next step will happen fallacy.

Something better happens when you have options. A portfolio of options. Options to do other things which are better than what you have or do right now. So one has to create or look for these options. They’re all around you if one persistently looks for them.

And the best way to create options is to start trying and practicing several new things. Showcase the expertise through practice. And create and leverage connections. And from these options “better” happens when these options happen to collide with luck.

Then and only then one could move on from the past as you do have these new options that take care of you. Otherwise, you are indeed stuck in the past and perhaps waiting for “chance” event to take care of you. And you might not like what it offers you. So work to engineer your future.