If you don’t let your past die
then it won’t let you live
– Perry Noble
For many of us, myself included, leaving the past in the past is an extremely difficult thing to do. And when I say extremely, I mean extremely.
We look back at all the things we could have said, should have done, and would have wanted to happen. The moment might be over, but the regret never ends. And because of this, regret becomes the dictator of our lives. Something that keeps us tied to people and situations that have already let us go. Something that makes us lose new moments because we are too busy wishing to get back old ones.
But see, that’s what starts the endless cycle.
You lose today, the time you could spend doing the things you love with the people you love because you are too busy thinking about the moments you lost. You lose now, which leads you to regret it later and forces you to lose then too.
Reread that last sentence.
Whether you understood it perfectly or not, read it again because understanding this is pivotal.
You need to let go of things that have already left. Until then, that frustration, anger, and disappointment you feel towards yourself will always be in you. Whether those feelings are deep down or at the surface, until you forgive yourself for not knowing better you will never feel better. You will never live better.
Don’t let that situation or that person ruin what could be the best days of your life. Don’t let your obsession with your past choices ruin what could be the best days of your life. Think back to that situation your beating yourself up over and acknowledge how you feel. It’s ok to be embarrassed or hurt. But let those emotions out and let the situation go with it. You don’t deserve to be held captive by regret. You have the key, not the situation; not the other person, YOU. Accept what happened, forgive yourself for how you responded, and let yourself free.
