I had a conversation recently that’s stuck with me.
A colleague of mine was going through a hard time — the kind of hard that makes you sit back and question everything. He had lost his job after making a bad decision. A real, tangible consequence. And when I sat down with him, I could see it all over him — regret, shame, doubt. We talked. We prayed. I reminded him of something I believe deep in my bones:
You are not what you did. You are what you repeatedly do.
It’s easy to let a mistake — even a big one — define you. To believe that your past choices are a verdict on who you are. But they’re not. They’re chapters, not the whole book.
The truth is, most people build their future by repeating their past. The same habits. The same thoughts. The same cycles. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Through faith, prayer, and a genuine desire to grow, we can break that pattern. We can write a new chapter. One built not on regret, but on purpose.
And let me be clear — this isn’t about ignoring consequences or pretending mistakes don’t matter. They do. But they don’t define you. What defines you is what you choose to do next. And then what you do after that. And the day after that.
I care about my friend. I want to see him rise up and walk forward in strength and faith. And I believe he will. Because I believe we serve a God of redemption, and that every one of us has the ability to pivot — to turn from the weight of yesterday and build a tomorrow worth waking up for.
So if you’re in that place — stuck in the shadow of your past — hear me on this:
- You are not what you did.
- You are what you repeatedly do.
Choose wisely. Live intentionally. And lean into the grace that lets you start again.
