DREIESKIVA​|Roald Kvam

There’s a version of you that made mistakes.
That stayed too long.
That said the wrong thing—or said nothing at all.
That let yourself down—or hurt someone else.
That ignored your gut.
That ran away when you should’ve stayed, or stayed when you should’ve left.

And maybe you still carry that version with you:
The shame.
The regret.
The confusion.
The aching question:
“Why didn’t I act sooner?”
“How could I have missed the signs?”
“What was I thinking?”

Here’s the truth:
You are not your past.
You are not the sum of your mistakes.
You are not your worst day.
You are who you choose to be today. And that choice is powerful.

You don’t have to punish yourself to grow

There’s a common myth that self-criticism leads to growth.
But true transformation doesn’t come through shame—it comes through honesty, compassion, and responsibility.

You don’t need to punish yourself to grow.
You need to forgive yourself to grow.

It takes courage to look back with clear eyes.
To own your part without excusing it.
But it also takes wisdom to release what no longer serves your future.

Growth doesn’t require endless guilt.
It requires a grounded truth:
“The person I was back then didn’t know what I know now.”

That’s where maturity begins.
Not in being flawless, but in learning—and choosing better next time.

Forgiveness isn’t permission—it’s freedom

Self-forgiveness doesn’t mean what happened was okay.
It means you’re no longer letting an old version of yourself control the future version you’re becoming.

Forgiveness clears the emotional debt.
It frees up the energy you need to heal, dream, and move forward.

Shame keeps you stuck.
Grace sets you in motion.

The old you was surviving—with the knowledge, tools, and capacity you had then.
Now, you know more.
Now, you feel deeper.
Now, you see clearer.
And that means you’re capable of new decisions and better outcomes.

You are responsible for your future

It’s tempting to hide behind the past:
“I’ve always been this way, so I can’t change.”
“Because I failed back then, I don’t deserve better now.”

But those are lies.

What matters most is not what happened—
It’s what you do now.

You may not be responsible for everything that happened to you,
but you are responsible for how you respond to it now.

You’re responsible for how you rise.
How you repair.
How you rewrite the story from here.

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Let’s be honest:
Yes, you’ve fallen short.
Yes, you’ve carried regrets.
Yes, you’ve held more than you ever thought you could hold.

But you’re still here.
Which means you have a future.

And in that future:
You can choose differently.
You can think more clearly.
You can move in alignment with who you really are—not who you were, or who you fear becoming.

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You don’t owe your old self an explanation.
You owe your new self a chance.

You’re not trapped by your past—you’ve been shaped by it.
And now it’s your turn to shape what’s next.

With forgiveness.
With courage.
With grace.
And with full ownership of the life ahead of you.