Release the Past to Embrace the Future

I love to encourage people to set goals and figure out what is important to them. But often times, we need to first let go of things getting in the way.

Our outer world is a reflection of our inner world – we are always creating the sum total of our thoughts and feelings about a particular topic in reality. It’s important to clean out the old baggage from the past to make room for the new. If you allow yourself to let go of your old beliefs, habits, disappointments, and expectations, you clear the way for greater and greater achievement moving forward. We should take our lead from the trees – it’s in their nature to let go of what no longer serves them so they can grow into something greater.

Your future will find you if you let go of your past.

People are concerned with “finding themselves”. What if the key to finding yourself is making room for your future by letting go of your past? Start questioning why you do what you do and start letting go of the things that you know are not healthy. Before you can make changes to your habits, you need to understand why you do them and what purpose they serve. Once you understand that, you can make strategic changes to replace your bad habits with good ones.

This can involve different things for different people, and is much easier said than done. Letting go can be as simple as recycling or giving away old clothing. It can be as radical as changing one’s entire lifestyle. Whichever it is, it is always going to be somewhat painful. Experiencing a feeling of loss is normal, so don’t let that be an obstacle that stops you from moving forward.

The Most Common Roadblocks To Moving Forward

  • Fear of leaving your comfort zone. Learning to let go of old habits, ideas, people who are not serving your best interests is not an easy task for anyone. The main reason is you must leave your comfort zone or familiar situations, habits and thinking patterns. Because this can be extremely stressful, most people simply will not do it. They will make excuse after excuse as to why they cannot or should not change, instead of embracing the change. This is the main block in most people’s way when it comes to letting go of anything in their life.
  • Fear of the future. Letting go is always somewhat scary, especially because the future is always unknown. The past, miserable as it might have been, is a known quantity, so you at least know what to expect, even if it is not great. The future, however, is completely unknown and unpredictable, and this is very unnerving for most people. If you hold onto things from the past, you have a basis for managing attitudes, relationships, , but because the future is unpredictable it is much more difficult to plan ahead. The not knowing is enough to keep many people stuck in unhealthy lifestyles, bad relationships and poor habits that hold them back from becoming their best self. If it is easy or comfortable is it really your true future?
  • Fear of losing your identity. Another block to moving on in your life is thinking you will lose some essential part of your identity, personality, friendship, family relations or other parts of yourself that you value. I can tell you this from experience, that everyone experiences this fear. You may seem to lose some, but if you do then anything you lose was not really that important. This may seem harsh, but many of us do not really know our deepest self, our deepest identity, and even who our real friends are. Know that if you truly embrace your future, this will not occur. In fact, when you move ahead and let go of your past, more, not less of your personality and gifts will manifest.

So, this season, take some time to identify road blocks, reflecting on your life right now and the season you are in. Do you have unhealthy habits or too many obligations? Take a look at your commitments, your schedule, and all of the stuff you do in your daily life.

Start saying “NO” to things that aren’t aligned with what is important to you and your health. Make a commitment to yourself and get specific about things that you will let go of so that you can start focusing on the future. This is the year to let go of some stuff, put yourself on the list first, set healthy boundaries, and say “no” more often. Remember, you are in charge of your life, your health, and your future!!!

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Disclaimer: The information contained herein is not to be construed as medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any medical condition. These statements made have not been approved by the FDA, nor should they be taken as a substitute for medical advice from a licensed physician.

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