Edit vs. Revise
Today I want to talk about the difference between editing your story and revising your story. If you know me at all, you know I love to read and I love to write. Both are my passions. In my mind, I’m often creating and editing words and stories. So as I think from a writer’s perspective about the words revise and edit, this topic popped into my mind.
Let me explain what those words mean to a writer. Then I want you to make a connection with those words and your life, and what you can do with your past and your present.
Looking With Fresh Eyes
When you’re editing a piece of work, you have your eraser out. You are fixing mistakes and erasing words by back-spacing and deleting. You’re critical of what’s on the paper, and you’re getting rid of parts and making them better.
Revising is a little different. It’s what you do after your story is already out there. You’ve let it sit for a while, and you pick it back up and look at it with fresh eyes. You’re actually seeing it again. So you look at that story and decide ways in which you can make it stronger and improve it.
So, here’s the connection with those words and real life. I want you to think about your life and your past. We cannot change our past, no matter how much we may want to, but we can use it as a source of gaining confidence. We can look at our past experiences and use them to make us a better person. The truth of the matter is, there is not one of us that does NOT have a story.
The Past Is Important
There’s a saying that goes, you can never step into the same river twice. This means that life happens and you can’t only recreate the good things; it’s always changing. And the truth is, all of us have baggage in some way, shape, or form, and each of us deals with our past – our baggage – in different ways.
Some people completely deny their past. Some choose to gloss over it. Some choose to limp along and never live fully because that past is just on them like a piece of Velcro. And some people just take on the challenge of always trying to prove themselves because of their past.
No one is better than the next person. But here’s the deal. Please don’t misunderstand this video. I’m not implying you should just deal with your past and get over it – I don’t know the path you’ve walked, nor do you know where I’ve walked, so there is certainly no judgement here – but what I’m saying is this.
Our past history is important. That’s why we study the past, and we learn from it.
Look In The Past
Here’s the other thing. You can’t live by rear-view mirror thinking. However, sometimes, in order to move forward, you need to look in the rear view mirror first. Just like when you step in the car. What’s the first thing they tell you to do before you take your driver’s test? Check the mirrors. Look behind you. We need our past sometimes.
But here’s what we can do – we can give our past a brand new definition. We can give our past new meanings. We can look at our past with a brand new lens – and that’s the lens of truth, not of judgment or unworthiness.
We can grab onto the truth and know we’re here for a purpose – we’re here to live intentionally and pay it forward and help others along. And we can shift our focus from the past to the present. We can remove the toxic people in our lives. We can write new chapters. We can be the hero or the heroine of our own book.
Don’t Edit Your Past – Revise It
So that’s my challenge for you today. Don’t try to edit your past, because you can’t. You cannot and will not ever be able to change the past or what has happened. You can’t step into the same river twice. But you CAN revise it. You CAN look at things with a new lens, new meaning, and revise the story you’re living now.
I hope you got some value out of this. To be honest, putting these words to paper actually ministered to me, because I needed to hear them as well! Please pay it forward and pass along to someone who needs it. As always, I appreciate you reading!
