You can’t change what has already happened. But, you can create your future!
The insanity is that we spend years and sometimes decades holding on to our past. Sometimes we can’t let go of a love that went wrong or a painful childhood that we lived. Some of us question why our parents weren’t better or why our husband was with someone else. We stop ourselves from moving forward because we are so busy looking back at what would have, could have or should have been. Why do we waste all this time? The problem is, we can’t change it and we can’t relive it. Yet we hold on and re-hash it over and over again.
“It’s Who I Am”
I was talking with a friend who has been struggling with lack of motivation. She wants to move forward, but can’t seem to do what she knows she needs to do. During our conversation, she mentioned that she saved everything from her divorce. When I asked why, she said she didn’t know, maybe the kids would want it. In addition, she told me she didn’t want to sell her parent’s house. They had been gone for years. She didn’t want the house, but it was the house she grew up in. She couldn’t let go of the past because she was viewing it as her life. She was using it to validate who she was. What a revelation! Here she was telling me that she wants to move forward, yet she won’t let go of the past. She’s stuck.
You Are Not Your Past
Similar to the roles we play in our lives, our past does not determine who we are. We may be mothers, sisters and co-workers, but that is not who we are, it’s what we do. It’s the same thing with our past. It could be we were neglected as a child, ended up divorced, dealt with chemical abuse in the family or lost a loved one. These type of events are not who we are, they are the blocks that built our strength, teach us lessons and helped us determine good from bad. These moments from our past contribute to the knowledge, determination and beliefs that live inside us. They serve as the fuel, the inspiration and the will to be better, to do better and love better. We are not our past. Our past is part of us.
Open Your Heart
We are the ones who determine who and what we will be. It is us who decides if these events will make us stronger or weaker, more compassionate or resentful. The power is within each of us. We determine the outcome and we create our future. Letting go does not erase who we are, it allows us the opportunity to experience and learn more. Open your heart and let go of the darkness; it is holding you back from living the life you dream of.
Learning Tips:
As stated in my book, Power Within Her, writing is an amazing healing tool. Tonight, think about what you are holding on to and why you are doing it. What events have happened to you that you can look at differently and grow from? Are you keeping items that remind you of painful or memories? How are they serving you? What would happen if you let them go? Make room for the future and let go of what is holding you back. You don’t need it anymore.
