PSA – Skin Checks and Self-Compassion (2 Min Read) | Vol. 205

May 29, 2026

“We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” – Rick Warren

PSA – Skin Checks and Self-Compassion

The anxiety I have about skin cancer is thanks to a ‘70s childhood. In my youth, kids played outside. If you wanted to play video games, you rode your trusty Schwinn Sting-Ray to an arcade with a pocket full of quarters. Sunscreen? It was all about tanning, not avoiding UV rays. 

SPF didn’t get regulated by the FDA until I was 9. It wouldn’t go mainstream until the ‘80s. People slathered on baby oil to tan, aloe vera to ease sunburn, or, rarely, zinc oxide to prevent it. 

Now, I get the privilege of getting a full-body scan every six months from my dermatologist. And I’m well acquainted with the liquid nitrogen canister she uses to freeze pre-cancers. Like so many, I’m stuck managing the mistakes of my past.  Unlike my favorite terry cloth polo, some bad decisions don’t come back into vogue.

Do I blame myself? My parents? No one knew better back then. 

Which brings me to the point. We’ve all chosen our version of tanning oil over sunscreen. Then, we waste precious energy beating ourselves up for past decisions. Decisions we made with imperfect information – but the best we had at the time. Only in retrospect was it a bad decision. If we went back in time and only knew what we knew then, we’d do it all over again.

Second-guessing is a trap. The point of reflection isn’t to double down on self-recrimination. It’s to learn from past mistakes and apply what we learned in the future. It’s time to stop shaming and start learning. Until we do, we’ll keep making the same mistakes, while inventing new ways to screw things up.

One question to ponder in your thinking time: Where am I confusing hindsight with blame?

Make an Impact!
Jay Papasan
Author I CEO I Coach