Getting Past the Past: How to Let Go of the Past For Good

Ever wondered how it would feel like to live a life free of disorganized thoughts running inside your head? Imagine yourself having a stream of peaceful thoughts which come and go like ocean tides without any pain, struggle, or resistant.

Life would be enjoyable if that were the case.

Unfortunately, many of us live with sad memories of the past that we find hard to let go. These memories unconsciously run through our mind until they overwhelm us.

Failing to let go of the past is like clinging to hot coal hoping that you won’t get burnt. By realizing that inviting the past into the present only causes you pain can help you let go. However, letting go is not always as easy as it sounds.

Ready to say goodbye to a painful past? Here is how you can let go of the past for good!

Devout Your Thoughts to Let Go

It’s hard to let go of your painful past if you have experienced emotional and mental trauma in the past. As a result, you end up creating an emotional barrier as a way to relieve yourself from mental anguish. When this sounds like a solution, it makes your mind shrewd to making an impenetrable barrier to heal any painful emotions.

To reconcile with the past, you must be committed to letting go of any painful emotions you are holding onto. Devoting yourself to healing allows you to unburying any unresolved issues to heal them. However, you must understand that the pain will be overwhelming at first and, therefore, be ready to confront it.

By pushing through the pain, you find your personal growth, and it’s from there that your healing resides. Your healing starts the moment you show willingness and devout your thoughts to face the past.

Acknowledge the Pain

The past hurts but masking that pain only works for a short time and doesn’t address the cause of the pain. Just like a deep wound requires stitching and proper care to heal properly, you need to acknowledge the pain by allowing yourself to feel those emotions. Acknowledging the pain means you accept life as it unfolds, hence, leaving the scars of the past behind.

View any unwanted occurrences in your life as an opportunity o reveal your deepest wisdom instead of viewing them as some form of punishment. Understand that everything you’re feeling right now must come to an end. Therefore, instead of running from emotional pain, lean on it, and experience it fully, and it will soon go away.

Be Honest with Yourself and Stop Playing the Blame Game

Emotional and mental pain makes us develop a defense mechanism of blaming others for our suffering. We strongly feel that we can’t be the reason why we are suffering, that it must be someone else’s fault.

But the moment you look past that ego and the need to protect your fragile inner-self, you’ll start seeing things clearly. Being honest with yourself allows you to shine in the light of the current situation, and you start seeing things as they are.

Therefore, if you are going through pain, anger, or hurt, be bold enough, to be honest with yourself. If you can’t open up to someone about what you’re going through, write down your feeling and be sure to be specific about what happened. When you do that, you experience a purgative cleansing that allows you to leave the past behind.

Let Go of the Past by Making Amends

If you want to leave the past in the past and embrace the present without any pain, you have to restore broken relationships. Whether the bad blood was caused by your failure to see your mistake, disuse of trust, or simple misunderstanding, make sure you reconcile before moving on.

Sometimes it’s hard to face those who hurt you or you have wronged, but with the help of a therapist near you, frayed relationships can be healed.

Recite a Positive Mantra to Help Overcome Painful Thoughts

Focusing too much on the negative side of why we are going through pain prolongs the hurting instead of healing it. You can change this creating a positive mantra which you should recite every time the painful emotions overwhelm you.

For instance, instead of constantly asking yourself why something bad happened to you, tell yourself how lucky you are that it happened since it left you wiser.

With such thoughts, you are not only able to move past the pain but also find a new path to a happy future.

Find a New Positive Experience to Replace the Painful Past

No matter how much the past hurts, you can easily replace it with positive thoughts. In addition to thinking positively, make a broader decision of initiating positive changes in your life. Let this decision herald positive action that will bring you closer to the happy life you desire.

Instead of holding on to the past, move away from the place that brings back bad memories and to a new place if need be. Meet new people, start new relationships, and create new experiences to replace the old memories. Most importantly, make sure you are enjoying your current life to the maximum.

Learn to Live in the Present

One of the most powerful ways to get over a painful past is learning to live the present. Unfortunately, most of us are attracted by the strong emotional magnets of the past or sometimes worry about what the future holds. These worries deny you the opportunity to enjoy the good things in your present life.

Living in the present may sound hard at first, but if you can achieve it through practicing mindfulness. Being mindful doesn’t happen overnight, and you have to practice to acquire the skill. But once you do, you get to enjoy your positive emotional and spiritual side. Most importantly, mindfulness helps you get over your painful past.

Start Your Journey to Letting Go

Now that you know how you can let go of the past, it’s time to utilize those tips and start living in the present. In most cases, getting out of your comfort zone and embracing a new and unfamiliar routine is usually the hardest part of letting go. However, you need to realize that acceptance of the past brings valuable wisdom.

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