I read a quote a couple years back that either haunts me or inspires me, depending on how I feel about myself that day. The quote is from the author Dan Sullivan, in his book Who Not How, and reads as follows:
“The definition of hell is: Your last day on Earth, the person you became meets the person you could have become.”
I remember reading this on my Instagram feed years ago, and I stayed on the screen for a minute. Not looking at my phone, but thinking of how terrified I would be if this was true.
I then reminded myself, “Well, Andrew, you’re a good Catholic (most of the time), so you’re not going to Hell; therefore, this doesn’t apply to you,” and quickly laughed it off. But once my wit and humor washed away, I started to take the quote’s meaning seriously.
What if I were to meet the version of me that I could have become, rather than who I am? Will there be much difference? Is he smarter, kinder, more generous, more muscular than who I am today? Am I on a steady course of self-improvement to where this person I could have become isn’t too far off from who I ended up being?