Looking Back, To Allow, Moving Forward

              
Looking back at the past for the purpose of learning will allow you to move forward.

To fully appreciate the significance of these words, let's look at this more closely.

Looking Back can be very beneficial and has huge pay offs when we are actively learning about ourselves. The objective needs to be increasing self-knowledge so we can then feel empowered to make changes in ourselves, relationships, and life.

When looking back, a key point to remember is that we must focus our attention on knowing ourselves and understanding ourselves. Ultimately, the person you need to understand is you.

The willingness to let down your walls, embracing continuous learning, and having a strong desire to be healthy are the characteristics we need most to help us learn from the past, let go of the pain, and move forward.

If you need some encouragement, here are my top five reasons to look back:

- Improve your relationship with yourself.
- Look back and see your life differently.
- Stop reliving your past in the present.
- Gain awareness and acceptance that bad things happen to people. It's not personal, it's life.
- Make peace with yourself.

Other benefits of looking back may also include:

- Allowing old hurts to surface and be worked through in the present.
- Renewing trust in self, relationships and life.
- Understanding how past experiences have shaped the person you are today.
- Removing emotional barriers that are in the way.
- New awareness, insight and relief.
- Forgiveness of self and others.
- Replacing negative beliefs with helpful ones that support the person you are today.
- Exposing the shame, bitterness and resentments that keep you stuck in life.
- Developing a healthier perspective about different parts of your life.
- Interrupting the cycle of self-punishment over things that happened in the past.
- Gaining support, validation and acceptance from those we trust.
- Living a more thankful, grateful life.

Just to be clear, looking back is valuable when we use it to grow, evolve and progress. The goal is always to move forward. New Understanding and opening up to New Awareness allows us to achieve this goal if we are open to receive.

A few words on dealing with the past:

Facing your past does not mean dwelling on it. It just means that you are willing to work on the pieces of your life that are causing you problems and have become obstacles. Once the issues are worked through enough, you have the responsibility to put into practice new behaviors and awareness that support health. When you make the decision to stop reliving the past in the present, you will be heading forward bound.

Food for thought: dwelling on the old hurts and pains keeps us anxious, frustrated, and depressed.

Lao Tzu once said, "Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes." I believe this, and can honestly tell you, I have an easier time moving on from whatever is upsetting me, by reminding myself that life is a series of experiences. It consists of the good, the bad, and everything in between. All of it, happens during the course of life and living. That's all.

When unforeseen events and circumstances happen, tell yourself, this too is part of life. It just happens to be your turn to experience the painful side of living.

Gaining perspective on the power of the past:

The past is a part of you. It is important because it happened. But it falls under the heading of "what was" not "what is." As such, we must learn to keep the past in its right place - in the past. I understand that this is not done easily or simply. All the same, we have a choice to make: allow our emotional wounds to heal or hold on to what hurts.

The real power, I believe, is in the present, not in the past. The past is over and done with. There is nothing we can do about it, but learn from it. The present, on the other hand, is happening now- this is all we have, it's what we can change, and the only time we have control over. We can rebuild our lives only in the here and now.

Closing thoughts...

To experience the reward of healing, we must be willing to examine our lives and learn from it. We must also be willing to learn to live our lives in the present. Looking back matters, but don't get stuck there. Life is calling.

Three important takeaways:

Deal with the past by putting it in perspective, and move forward.
Your life will improve when you think and feel better about yourself.
Life is too precious of a gift to waste it living in the past. Don't miss out on it.

Thank you for reading!