From the moment we are born our history, our past begins. Of course, at that young age and for many years after that we have no idea no knowledge of this. It isn’t until later in life or as we get old enough to begin seeing or thinking about things we did in our past. These could be things that were fun that we did with our friends our families. They could be things we said or things we saw.
And of course, the older we get the more of a past we accumulate. We all have a past. It doesn’t matter whether it is good bad or anywhere in between. It’s there. Our pasts can tell stories. We have heard stories from our grandparents and things they did or saw long ago. These stories can tell us a lot about our family members that came before us. They can show us how we learned to do different things. They can teach us.
The problem with our past is that it can hold us back from our future. I am sure there is at least one thing in each of our past that was not the greatest moment, idea, choice, etc. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s one thing or many, these not so good moments if you will, can keep us from moving forward. There is a common misconception that we (I) tend to believe at times. It is, that our past is what tells us who we are, who we can be or what our remaining life will be like. It is, that our past determines our future.
Yes, our past can tell us many things. It can tell us the mistakes we’ve made. It can show us the bad choices or bad roads we’ve taken. It can bring back many memories, some good, some not so good. The other bad part about our pasts, others around us use our past choices, failures, slips and falls against us. Even long after those things were done. People like to judge others according to their past. This happens in all parts of our lives. They like to bring them up time and time again. This happens with spouses, family members, co-workers, etc.
With all of that said (so much more could be said), there can be a bright side. Just as I stated earlier, our past can teach us many things provided we listen and learn from it. You see, we all make mistakes. We do it every day. At home, at work, at the store. We are human, it is going to happen. Learn from it. Your past doesn’t have to determine your future, unless you are using it to better yourself. Unless you are using it as a change point in your life. It is possible to get past the strongholds of your past. It will take determination. It will take work. But, it is possible.
I am going to go outside of my comfort zone for a minute (Very difficult I might add)
This was a huge struggle for me for many years. Now as I said earlier, we all make mistakes. So, my life was no different. I have had ups and downs just like anyone else. So, with certain choices I made or mistakes I made, failures, etc. I not only had to deal with them myself, I had to deal with things people said. I had to deal with those things being brought back up to me numerous times long after that fact. People had said some pretty hurtful things to me.
With all this, I really struggled to believe in myself. I struggled with my self-worth, my purpose in life. You see, I allowed all the negative things to consume me and basically take over. I didn’t think that I would amount to much. I didn’t feel like I could contribute anything of value in any area of my life.
Here’s the thing, it is possible to overcome those things in your past and even the things people like to say about them. I am so very thankful for all that I have experienced in my life. The good, the bad and everywhere in between. It has taken a long time but, I have used my past as a reflection of where I have been, not of where I am headed. I don’t dwell on it nor on the comments of others regarding it.
So, here is my point, our past is what it is. It will not change. It will always be what it was. The strongholds of our past can be broken. We can learn from it. We can use it as fuel to help us progress into the future. This can be in your personal life, it can be regarding your career, it can be in any area of our lives. The thing to not do is, to hold onto your past. This is true whether it is some success or a failure. Because even holding on to a success you had in the past, will only last for so long before it begins to hinder you from moving forward. Holding onto a failure, allowing it to bring you down emotionally can take a toll on you over time. This again will hinder us from moving forward with our life.
Learn from your past. Take key points from your past and use them as fuel to help you progress. Don’t dwell on the negative too long. Focus on the positive and keep moving forward.
The more time you spend looking back and dwelling on the past, the more you are going to miss the most beautiful thing right in front of you, LIFE.
Life is what YOU make of it. Don’t let others determine that for you.
Until next time…
