ARE U LIVING IN THE PAST?THEN STOP NOW AND TAKE THESE ACTIONS

1. Take responsibility for your mistakes

Maybe you made mistakes in your past that caused your life to take a different turn. Perhaps you even hurt others with your actions. If you sweep your mistakes under the rug, you are doing a disservice to not only those you hurt but also yourself.

Acknowledging and accepting that you played a hand in your situation is the first step towards letting go of the past. Maybe that means reaching out to someone you wronged and apologizing or somehow making it up to them.

Once you can take responsibility for your previous faults, you will feel a huge weight lifted off your shoulders.

2. Forgive yourself and others

If you made a mistake in your past, you have probably spent a lot of time ruminating and beating yourself up over it. Maybe your decisions caused hardship in your own life, or you hurt someone you cared about.

As much as you may wish you could, you can’t go back and change it, so the best thing to do is forgive yourself.

If you were the person who got burned, try to forgive the other person. It may be difficult, but it will feel great to rid yourself of the anger you feel.

3. Focus on the things in your control

The past is gone, so as much as you might wish you could change things, cogitating on it is a waste of your time and energy.

The here and now is all you really have. Focus on what’s in your control, which is the present moment. Maybe you messed up in the past, but you can take steps today to right your wrongs and turn your life around.

Your time is much better spent finding ways to improve your current situation. Focus your energy on personal growth and working on the things about yourself that need improvement.

4. Find a healthy outlet for your emotions

Often the reason we ruminate on our past is that we haven’t processed our emotions. When you bottle your feelings, they often appear in not-so-great ways.

Finding an outlet is crucial to process your emotions healthily. Maybe you’re an artist, and you let your thoughts tell a beautiful story on the canvas.

Or you might prefer a more personal approach, such as journaling. Writing down your thoughts is an excellent way to process difficult emotions. You can even burn or tear up the pages afterward as a symbolic way of releasing them.

5. Gain clarity on your attachment to the past

To stop dwelling on your past, you need first to understand why you are so attached to it. People typically get stuck in the past for two reasons: they either had a challenging experience or an amazing one.

If you fall into the first camp, you probably experienced a traumatic situation of some kind, such as an accident or even a breakup. You might be wondering what you could’ve done to change the outcome.

However, you may be thinking of a fantastic experience from your past. If you feel like you’ll never reach that level of happiness again, that could explain why you are so attached to that moment.

6. Identify lessons you took from the experience

Do you find yourself dwelling on what you could have done differently? One way to move on from your past experiences is to identify lessons you learned.

For example, perhaps an ugly breakup taught you what you don’t want in a partner. Now you’re more likely to catch red flags early on.

Or, maybe you screwed up and missed an important deadline and were fired from your job. This challenge taught you an important lesson about time management and setting priorities. Whatever the outcome was, there is bound to be a lesson that you can take away from your past.

7. Let go of your victim mentality

If you experienced abuse in your past, whether physical, mental, or emotional, there is no doubt that you were a victim. However, as painful as those experiences were, it can be helpful to view them from a different perspective.

Instead of thinking of yourself as a victim, think of yourself as a survivor of your circumstances. Acknowledging the strength it took to get out of the situation can be an empowering experience.

It will be easier to let go of those difficult emotions once you learn to view your past through this new lens.

8. Express gratitude for the present

When you’re stuck in the past, you neglect the present moment. You can be present when you’re preoccupied. A gratitude practice is a great way to reset your focus. Each morning, write down three things you are thankful for.

Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses now and then! Take in the beauty of the world around you and appreciate the people in your life.

Appreciating your life and enjoying simple pleasures is key to letting go of the past and savoring the here and now.

9. Take off your rose-colored glasses

The truth is, the past was never quite as great as we envision it. Perhaps we are wearing rose-colored glasses that alter our perception of previous events.

Maybe you had a partner that you felt was perfect for you, and now you compare every potential date to them. None of your relationships seem to work out because they don’t meet your expectations.

Once the past is well behind you, you may become sentimental and forget the challenges and difficult emotions you had at the time. Reminding yourself that your past wasn’t as perfect and magical as you might be remembering is crucial to letting go.