By; David Akinwale
People say it is very important to keep in mind things you’ve done in the past so that you can have an evidence for what your life turns out to be. I say history is nothing but history. What you have done in the past has absolutely no role to play in your future. We have all done things or been through situations that we are not so proud of or happy with, which is part of life.
I will be discussing 5 simple ways you can forget about the negative things that had occurred in the past and move in with life.
1. Change your mindset
If your mind focuses on the negative things that had happened in the past, your life will move in a negative direction. Your life move in the direction of your dominant thoughts, so whatever you set your mind and focus on is what your life and emotions will follow. Instead of setting your focus and thinking about all the negative things that had occurred in the past, all the heartbreaks, all the things you’ve lost, all the not so proud of situations.
Start to recycle all those thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts like: “I am going to be great, I am very intelligent, my history is nothing but history, what is ahead of me is great, nothing will stand in my way, I will be successful, I will not let my past tie me down.” If you wake up every day thinking and saying things like that loud and boldly, then you are getting a hold of it. Before you know it, no one will be able to use your past against you because you are starting to actually let go.
2. Cut off some friends
There are some friends that we keep that even we ourselves know deep down that they are doing nothing but slowing us down in life. It is not a crime to cut off friendships once you feel it is delaying your purpose in life. For you to occupy your focus with positivity, negative friends have to go. You need to set yourself apart so that you can be where you desire to be. You must stay away from friends that always remind you of the wrong things you’ve done in the past.
When I say set yourself apart, I mean tuning yourself completely out of what is going on around you and focus on yourself and your vision. Doing this can be very lonely; in fact it is a lonely situation, but that is just a price that you can afford to pay in order to be where you desire to be.
3. Set goals for yourself
One of the most important ways you can forget about the negative things that had happened in the past is by setting goals for your future. You need to acknowledge the fact that it is not the end of the world and you have full potentials of achieving greater things in life.
Start to imagine yourself doing big things in the future, going to school, getting that job of your dreams, starting new businesses, finding your soul mate, and more. Set both long and short tram goals, give yourself deadlines and follow up with your progress.
4. Learn to forgive
One of the things that kills us emotionally and mentally is the spirit of un-forgiveness. Holding a grudge against someone is like eating a poison and expecting someone else to die. We all do this thinking we are doing ourselves a favour, but it does nothing but break us down emotionally.
The only way you can forget about the past is by forgiving whoever has done you wrong. It doesn’t matter how bad they have broken your heart, If you can look at them and say “I forgive you” with a smile (this can be hard), then you are releasing yourself from the cage you have locked yourself in. Replace the spirit of hate with love.
5. Stop trying to impress people
Have you ever felt like no one understand you and why you make the decisions you make anymore? If your answer is yes, then it is because they don’t see what you see. You don’t owe anybody an explanation for doing what you feel like doing. You need to stop seeking approval from people and start giving notice whether they like it or not. You cannot please everyone; it is impossible.
Trying to please everyone does nothing but leads you into frustration. We all might have grown up thinking the best way to live our lives is by getting everyone to like who we are. It is just not possible; no matter how good of a person you are, there will always be people that just won’t like you for the sake of not liking you; which is also part of life.
Conclusion
You cannot move forward if you are still thinking about your past. Can you imagine a track athlete attempting to compete in a 100m dash with an heavy backpack? Yes, he’s most likely going to finish the race but he won’t finish it at the appointed time that he we was supposed to.
Many of us are ready to run our race, we are ready to shoot for the stars, but there is one thing that we need to do first; we need to drop off that backpack full of shame, regrets, unhappiness, mistakes, failure, broken hearts, grudges etc. When you drop that backpack, I promise you that your race will be much easier to run in life.
