This Is How Holding On To The Past Can Ruin Your Life

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There’s an Arab proverb that states that you should write the bad things that happen to you in the sand, so that they can be easily erased from your memory. However, most of us engrave the bad things that happen to us in marble; therefore, our painful memories remain immortalized in our minds.

We walk around with our failures, our mistakes, our disappointments, and our hurts. In order to live fully in the present, and adequately plan for the future, we need to learn what we can from the painful memories of the past, and then let those memories go.

The past can hold you back in life, hurt your present, and ruin your future.

Let go of the past so that you can be free and move on from the past shackled around your ankles, weighing you down. No matter how hard you try, you don’t have the power to change it. No one can change the past. What’s done is done and you can’t go back to the past and change the situation. The only thing you can do is to accept it, learn from it and move on.

Forgive yourself and others. Don’t waste your precious minutes dwelling on the past events. Life is so short that I’m sure you have more important things to think about and lots of goals to achieve. Focus on them instead.

Do you know how long you’ll live? No one knows. I hear about the deaths of young people and even children almost every day. This helps me realize that we should appreciate each second, minute and day of life. If you have a habit of living in the past, think about all people that have lost their lives. I do agree, it’s a terrible thing to think over. However, it will help you realize that you don’t have time to waste your life.

Every second you spend dwelling on the past is a second of your present that you are missing. Your past mistakes can help you improve yourself. But any other past events are not worth worrying about. Start living in the present. It’s a pearl of wisdom everyone should keep in mind.

Living in the past causes negative thoughts that not only affect your mind but also your health. They can lead to stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, obesity, and anorexia. You feel tired all the time and you are not able to stay productive at work and enjoy all those little happy things life offers you. If it sounds familiar to you, it’s time to let go of everything that is holding you back.

By holding on to the past you are blocking your own happiness and the last thing you want in life is to be alone. However, if you become a toxic person, others will avoid you and stop respecting you. No one wants to be around a resentful person so don’t let the past ruin your relationships.

You have the power to create how you live your life. Give yourself the chance to be happy, remember you are strong enough to overcome it.

When you live daily in a painful past you are living in darkness. The only who can take you out of your darkness is YOU. Work on your relationship with yourself and decide who you are aside from the pain. Take an inventory of your life and decide what you no longer need. Your past does not define you and your future. You are responsible for your well-being and that includes being happy, and you do get to choose how you will let happiness into your life.

Release the past, stand firmly in the present, and prepare to step confidently into the future. Thought Catalog Logo Mark

A writer writing love, life and her cancer journey.💚

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