While you may regret mistakes you’ve made in the past, carrying an emotional burden becomes psychologically damaging overtime. This may cause you to limit yourself, or even dive into depression, and who can blame you? You’re hurting. What so many of us seem to do as a first reaction, is blame the pain on someone, or worse, we blame ourselves. However, would you rather keep sulking with your head down, complaining about how the world did you wrong, or live to your fullest potential? It starts with one little step at a time, the first being the hardest of course; which is moving on. It’s not how much you hurt, but what you do with it. Here are a few ways to let go of your past;
Forgive yourself; if you’re battering yourself about whatever happened, you need to stop. It starts with you. Stop thinking about what you did wrong, or what you could’ve done better. You need to remember that mistakes happen, you learn lessons from them to improve your perspective on life. Take it as a guideline and work with it in future. Don’t discourage yourself, instead repetitively state calming enriching words in your mind and out loud, smile even when you’re unhappy, fall in love with yourself again.
Decide to Let it Go; Deciding to let the past go, also reveals that its really up to you to choose your own fate. Once you’ve decided that you’re not going to keep hurting yourself, you’ll ready to move on.
Remember the Bad and the Good; particularly for those going through various emotions from a failed relationship. While breaking up may cause you to recall and even emphasize on the good memories-which may result into regret- you need to remember the bad. The bad is probably the reason why the relationship failed, hence important to use as a reference and consolation.
Express yourself; vent your problems; it’s always good to let it out, whether it’s through a letter, or to a friend or family member. However, continuously venting similar problems and complaints, only repel those around you over time. Say what needs to be said, feel better, and work through it.
Distract yourself; loss can lead to reduction of activity and isolation from friends and family. This may result into decreased socialization and demotivated behavior. Take the time to find something you love and work on it, whether it’s starting a band, or learning karate. It’s something to take your mind off, while doing something new and productive.
It’s not easy to overcome emotional pain, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. The rough patches we experience shape and enable us to make better decisions. When going through these testing times, rest assured that they’ll be brighter days, while still keeping in mind the lessons learnt.