How to let go of the past

We all know it’s not that simple. You probably had a lot of painful experiences, some mistakes, accidents, injustices,… that resulted in phobias, anxieties, and insecurities.

But there might be positive things from the past that influence your life as well. You might have achieved beautiful things that gave you courage, or self-esteem. You might have amazing memories that keep you happy whenever you think of them – and it’s beautiful!

For many people, it is hard to let go of the past, and that’s completely normal. But today I want to show you how you can let go of the past that keeps impacting your life.

Just a quick disclaimer, I am not a therapist. If you experienced severe trauma, please get professional help. 


Deal with your emotions and change your narrative 

Start handling your emotions by focusing on them. Deal with them. If you’re sad, have a good cry. Understand that you will feel emotions that are unpleasant from time to time, but they don’t have to stop you or prevent you from living your life. You want to allow the emotions to be handled so you can let go of them.

Another thing you have to do is change your pattern of negative thinking. It’s the only way for you to be able to move on and let go.


Accept

Accept everything that happened, but refuse to stay affected by it. It will probably take time and work to let go of the past, but it’s a journey worth taking. Journaling can really help you with acceptance. Writing your feelings and thoughts will make you feel better and they will make you go in the right direction.


Live in the present

Take the time to focus on the present moment. Notice the sounds, smells, what you see, focus on what makes you happy right now. When you are living in the present you are free from your past. 


You are not your past

Keep in mind that your past does not define you. You are not your mistakes, your memories, your accidents, or what other people said or treated you. You are you. Right at this moment.


See the past as a life lesson

We can’t change the past, so get over your regrets. Life is about the progression of events that are intended to teach us important lessons. And when we find the lesson, we start letting go of what happened. It may take a while to process and discover the answer, but once you’ve answered it, things can change for the better for you. So, whenever you’re in a hard situation, or you struggle to let go, always ask yourself what you can learn from it.


Moving on is not forgetting the past, it’s learning from it. Find the message in the mess…cry.Forgive. Learn. That’s moving on.

Letting go isn’t about having the courage to release the past, it’s about having the wisdom to embrace the present.


Closure happens right after you accept that letting go and moving on is so important for your mental health. Remember that the past is just an illusion. You are here, now, and the present moment is the only real moment we will ever have. So, close the door and move forward.  ♥︎

22 Replies to “How to let go of the past”

  1. Thank you for this wonderful post, highly appreciate it !

    1. Maravilhoso espero ter a coragem e a capacidade de por em pratica esses conselhos maravilhosos

      1. Eu também

  2. What a beautifully made passage. Although the past can be hard to perceive now it doesn’t mean we can’t move on. Most things are have different dimensions to understanding but that doesn’t mean we can’t understand in a way that works for us.

  3. Thanks for everything you tell ❤

  4. This is excellent. Thank you. Merry Christmas from Wylie Texas

    1. Dhilleswari chandapu says: Reply

      Thank you

  5. Rachel Stateler says: Reply

    Thanks very helpful.

    1. Thank You for this wonderful message.
      This are steps I took this year and I have been happy since then.

  6. Ninda Yuliandari Mulyoto says: Reply

    Universe talk…just when I needed the most, this article pop up

    1. Cassandra Morgan says: Reply

      Thank!

  7. I never read a whole blog. Because I don’t have that much patient, I read only highlighted line’s.
    But this time I’m really feeling bad. Badly bad. My past make my life hell. That’s why I read the full artical for the FIRST time.
    Thanks for your great information.
    I’ll try hard to flow.
    I wanna live happily 🙂

  8. This is what I live by. Its perfect timing to hear it reflected back to me. Thank you.
    I am not my past.

    1. Thank you for this post🙏🙏👍👍❤❤

  9. I seem to have the gift of forgiveness and have let go of the past. My sister, however, can’t seem to do this. We both blocked out the memories of abuse by our father we endured in our childhood. My sister started having trouble and began to remember the horrific events. I am sharing this blog with her in hopes that she will start Journaling and taking this advice fully so she can move on and live in the present. Sincerely appreciate this blog for both of us!
    Thank you 😊

    1. What your sister needs is to be true to her newfound truths about what happened. Then she will likely have a lot of rage inside about her innocence and defenselessness regarding what happened. Depending on her personality, she may have a great need to be heard outside the pages of her journal. Those feel need to be validated before she can truly move on to make her life as awesome as she deserves. But her shock and anger is totally justified, given what a so called loved one has done to both of you. Its not about forgetting or not thinking about it. Its thinking about it from the child’s perspective, something no one did.

  10. That helped me so much. Thank you ❤️

  11. Thank you…I have been stuck to my past almost 10years… can’t afford a therapist but I believe things will be ok one day

  12. Fatima Murtaza says: Reply

    I have read this article and with more interest I have read all of your replies and comments. It was good to revise the life lesson that everyone has the same but everyone has the different that “our past makes us this that we are now.” injustice is there, saidness is there, shortcomings are there and mistakes are even there but the most wealthy thing is that lesson, that struggle and that strong decisions that we had made. thanks to our loard that we consider that we were wrong and we got a chance to replace that mistakes with the good gestures. thanks to loard that the cheapest people of our lives tought us the difference between good and bad now we have the ability to save us or can save someone else…the lesson my

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.