When I was in elementary school, I sold Christmas wrapping paper in the neighborhood as a fundraiser for a school trip.

Then it arrived…and I didn’t deliver it. I do not remember the details, but I know that I didn’t follow through.

It is shameful to think about now. Yet, it is also telling. I know that when I do not do something right away, I often feel too much shame to do it late and then it doesn’t get done at all.

To save myself from myself, I need to act right away. I also work to get over the shame – to do it anyway even if not as timely as I would like.

We change over time, but we can always continue learning from our past selves and creating better selves by shifting our patterns away from our own self-destructive behavior.