10 Things Life Will Teach You When You Finally Choose To Let Go Of Your Past

1. You will find a happiness within yourself that will never be found within another person or life circumstance.

For so long, we’ve grown accustomed to looking for happiness in relationships, careers, living situations, etc. The bottom line is that true happiness can only be found within you, at the root of your very core. Blindly searching for it in things that you think may offer it will only leave you feeling empty and less than fulfilled. Once you realize that you truly do control your own happiness, you’ll find it harder to entertain things or people that may threaten that.

2. You will be able to reflect on your past experiences and forgive yourself for any mistakes you’ve made.

We all have a past that we may or may not be proud of, but we can’t deny that it happened. Some lessons were probably harder than others to learn, but never the less, they were detrimental into shaping us into the people that we are today. If you cling onto anger at yourself for things you might’ve done wrong, then you’ll never open up the door for happiness. You deserve peace in your life, so forgive yourself.

3. You will learn about all of the things that bring you joy and help you pursue your passions in life.

Once you finally start letting go of your past, you’ll subconsciously start opening up your mind to new things. You may start discovering new passions, such as traveling, hiking, painting, writing, music, etc. Chances are that the majority of these passions have been tugging at your soul strings since childhood, but other people or situations might have caused you to suppress and ignore them. Cutting off those losses will bring those passions back into the limelight, and you won’t be able to ignore them any longer. Enjoy the time getting to truly know yourself.

4. You will gain an inner strength that you never fully realized you had.

Despite what hardships you might’ve gone through in the past, you know that they didn’t break you. They might’ve broken you temporarily, but you eventually found the strength to repair whatever was broken. With each disappointment in life comes a chance to make yourself stronger than whatever circumstance is trying to break you.

5. You will learn to forgive those who have hurt you in your past, and you will become grateful for the lessons that they taught you.

Just like you need to forgive yourself for your past mistakes, you need to forgive others, as well. It’s very easy to stay angry at a person who might’ve done you wrong, but you’re doing yourself a disservice because you’re allowing that person to steal moments of your happiness. That’s just not a fair thing to do to yourself. Again, forgiveness will bring you peace.

6. You will find the courage to move on.

No matter who or what hurt you in the past, you will find the courage to move beyond it. Much like your inner strength, your courage will come into play just when you feel like giving up. A courage switch will be turned on within you and it will become pretty difficult to turn it off.

7. You will realize that you are not as broken as you once let yourself believe.

You will wake up one day and realize that that hard time you went through a few years ago was only just a stepping stone for you to get where you are today. You picked up your broken pieces and put yourself back together, and that is something that can never be taken away from you.

8. Your past does not define your future or the person that you are continuing to become.

Leave your past in your past. It serves no purpose in your future. Time heals all wounds, yes, but that doesn’t mean you’ll forget about everything that you’ve been through. You’re not expected to, but you should at least try and take whatever lessons you’ve learned from them with you into your future. Stop looking in the rear view mirror and just focus on the road that’s in front of you.

9. Your perspective on many things will change.

Letting go of old, negative ways of thinking will open up your mind to so much more. You’ll want to learn new things about the world. You’ll want to meet new faces, explore new places, and constantly keep your ever-inquisitive mind wondering about what else is out there. Feed that desire. Not only will your perspective on how you view the world will change, but your perspective on how you view yourself will change, as well.

10. You will begin loving yourself for the first time, in a long time.

Letting go of your past means letting go of everything that has stopped serving you or adding value to your life, whether that be a person, a place, a job, etc. It also includes negativity, especially in regards to how you view yourself. By letting it go, you will learn how to speak more kindly to yourself. You’ll stop all of the negative self-talk, and you’ll replace it with positive affirmations. In time, you will truly begin to love yourself, and you’ll understand that you’re gradually becoming the person that you’ve always been meant to be.