Never Run from the Chain Gang

The news outlets here in Nashville recently covered a story about a 28-year-old man (if you can call him that) who escaped from a prison work release program. While other inmates picked up trash along the interstate he decided to make a run for it, and initially succeed.

Reading this story, and too many like it in the past, I couldn’t help but ponder why we have such difficulty learning from our mistakes.

Life gives us lessons all the time. If we look to experience to avoid preventable mistakes, then we unlock the true worth of history. Most of us were taught this early in life, have had countless reminders, and still have trouble applying it in our personal and professional lives. I know I do.

The inmate who bolted in Nashville is a perfect example of this simple but valuable lesson.

He stayed on the lam for six days, until he was caught in Texas, hiding under a mattress with a bag of money from a bank robbery earlier that same day. He faces multiple new charges and will be sentenced to a much longer term in prison. If he’d paid his dues and accepted the error of his previous ways, he would have been eligible for parole in 2016.

Here’s the point: It never ends well when we try to outrun our own mistakes. We must take accountability for the pain, sorrow and shortcomings of the past in order to grow toward the future.