If I Knew Then What I Know Now...

“If I knew then what I know now…”

 That phrase is really unhelpful. In fact, I’d like to challenge us all to abolish it from our thinking. 

It is really easy to blame ourselves for what we didn't know, what we didn’t prepare for, what we didn’t save, the list goes on and on. 

 “If I knew then what I know now, I would have done so many things differently.”

My friends, my fellow artists, you made decisions based on what you knew. Your circumstances changed. You learned new things. And now you know more. 

You didn’t know what you didn’t know.
You can only know what you know. 

That sounds obvious. But it's really easy to forget. 

Let’s revise our language. Let’s mind our mindset. 

Perhaps the more useful statement is 

“Because I know what I know now, I am...”

“Because I know what I know now, I will…”

“Because I know what I know now,  moving forward I…” 

This future focused language allows us to stand in our knowledge, make better decisions, and move forward. It allows us to focus our energy on progress rather than regret. 

It's time to forgive ourselves for what we did not know then, and to stand fully in what we do know now.  Our future selves will thank us for the decisions that we make with our current knowledge.