I saw this on Both Sides of the Wall https://bothsidesofthewall.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/quote-6/

I also tried to find who originally said the quote.  I found a similar quote but not this particular quote.  I like it.  It is direct.  Honest.  Amazingly hopeful when you think about it.  As long as I am looking over my shoulder wishing for a different past, I am missing out on living now.  Living the life I have.  Accepting myself lives in these words.  My past is cut in stone.  Longing for something different expends energy that could be better spent living today.  I wish I had……  If they had……. If only my past were different I could……  Rob me and do nothing about changing my past.  The past is just that, in the past.  I spent many, many sessions with my counselor sorting out what I can change and what I can’t.  I can not change my past.  Giving up that hope sets me free to change today and create a different tomorrow.  When I was a kid, I loved swinging across the monkey bars.  (picture of monkey bars for those not familiar with them http://www.redriderleglamps.com/department-56-christmas-story-village-backyard-monkey-bars) One of the essentials of monkey bars is letting go of the one behind you so you can reach forward and grasp the next one.  I spent time discovering my past because my own mind hid it.  I needed that information to help me understand why I behaved the way I did today.  I can’t change it. I am looking forward.  Setting goals.  I found myself on my map of life and ready to go from here.  Everyday, I can choose to linger in the past or strike out on a new adventure.  Yes, triggers still snag me and try to drag me back but I don’t need to give in.  Rest if I must, but never quit. From this piece I found the poem I remember from years ago.

http://www.psalm40.org/dontquit.html

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit-

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a fellow turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow –

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than

It seems to a faint and faltering man;

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor’s cup;

And he learned too late when the night came down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out –

The silver tint in the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It might be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –

It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

http://dontyouquitpoem.com/