Years ago, I attended a talk where the speaker invited people to stand up if they saw themselves as people who want to impact the world around them. Some people in the crowd stood. The speaker looked around the room at the people standing and at the people sitting and said to the people sitting down, “Some of you wanted to stand up, but chose not to and wish you had. Take a moment and stand up if you wished you would have stood up the first time.” More people stood up. He asked them to remain standing.
The speaker looked again to the crowd and said, “Thank you. That takes amazing courage to do. I see that still more of you who are sitting are thinking, ‘I wish I stood up’ that time also. Well, here is your chance. If you would have liked to stand up even that second time, please stand up now.” Again, more people stood.
Then the speaker said:
“In life, we don’t always follow our instincts to do the right thing. But here is a lesson: many times in life, we do get another chance to do what we messed up the first time (or even the first couple times). We will be given new opportunities to stand up all our lives. Please take the opportunity to stand up whenever it’s right to do so, because this is your life.”
No matter how many times you have messed up, made mistakes, or “fallen,” I strongly invite you to “stand up” now. Even if you have messed up in a big way, it’s not too late to change. You have another chance to “stand up,” because regardless of where you are in life, as long as you are alive, it is never too late for you to change.