What’s in Your Rear View Mirror?

By Dayna Del Val, Founding Member of The Prosper Network

There’s a powerful interview with Oprah and Adam Grant about his 2023 book Hidden Potential that hit me squarely between the eyes, or more accurately, in the center of my heart. There are dozens of nuggets to the interview, but the one I want to focus on here is this:

Oprah introduces a section in the book called “Actions for Impact,” which are opportunities and challenges to find your hidden potential. The one Professor Grant shares with the audience is, “Get in touch with your past self…our expectations tend to rise with our accomplishments, and we start to take for granted today things that would have made our day yesterday.”

Take a moment and read that again.

Now go back to some earlier period in your life and pull up your younger self.

Remember what you desperately wanted back then. Recall the hopes and dreams you had, and, at least in my case, think about how often it felt like there was no way you would ever achieve them.

Fast forward to right now.

Would your younger self believe all that you’ve achieved?

All that you’ve checked off on your long list of dreams?

All the accomplishments that that stage of you never could have even imagined?

All the times you’ve picked yourself up and kept going?

All the times you made the hard, right decision versus the easy, wrong one?

Here’s the shocking thing: everything you just considered is not only possible for you, it’s already in the rear view mirror of your life.

You’ve already accomplished it.

When was the last time you stopped to appreciate what you have done? Marked fulfilling the hopes and dreams you were certain would change your life…and did? Who you have become?

I’m grateful for the Spark this interview ignited in me. How in the world can I not feel gratitude when I look around at what my life has become? I’ve so far exceeded many of the dreams I had 30 years ago when I was in my early 20s, and I’ve (mostly) reconciled the ones that didn’t happen…yet.

As we move into the busy spring and summer months, take time to reflect on your life from this perspective. Consider your 20-year old self and her/his dreams, goals and aspirations and scroll through your life since then.

You’ve already done more with your life that you could have dreamed up all those years ago. It might not look like what you planned for, but hasn’t it been more extraordinary that you could really have ever imagined?

If you’re looking for a place to engage in conversations around ideas like this, I invite you to check out The Prosper Network. With a mission of generosity, reciprocity and expansion, this platform is a powerful group of women entrepreneurs committed to being part of the cheering section that celebrates your wins and is a tremendous resource and joyful community to encourage you to keep going.

Dayna Del Val helps people communicate with audacity, clarity and confidence—so they can spark change, build connections and step fully into their impact.

Connect with Dayna at www.daynadelval.com.