6 tips to letting go of the past - because the future is the exciting part!
How many times have you thought, "Oh, if only I had done it that way! If only I had listened and not had a go. If only I said that differently, my life would be different now". Guess what, it is time to wake up and realise you haven’t, you didn’t and you can’t change it. Time to stop living in the past, time to let go of the what ifs and the maybes.
I have been working with a client who really wants a career on the speaking circuit. When I asked what is stopping you, he said he did a talk a few years back and it was a disaster.
I asked him if he had done anything recently. He replied yes, so I asked him how was it? He said he nailed it, it felt great. So I asked why would you let the past define your future goals? We talked a lot about what the future looked like, how he was going to achieve his goal, and why he could not let one incident determine his future success. He is now speaking regularly and very comfortable with it.
Some things we need to focus on when letting go of the past:
Believe in yourself
Get clarity on your goals
Have a strategy on how to achieve them
Be accountable to someone to keep you in the right head space so you never look back, only forward
Focus on the present and the future, that is where it is all happening
Forgiveness can sometimes help us let go
I am not saying the past is all bad. Some of our greatest lessons have come from there, but if it is stopping us from having the life we want moving forward, then it has to be dealt with.
I love this story by author and illustrator Jon J Muth...
A Heavy Load
Two traveling monks reached a town where there was a young woman waiting to step out of her sedan chair. The rains had made deep puddles and she couldn’t step across without spoiling her silken robes. She stood there, looking very cross and impatient. She was scolding her attendants. They had nowhere to place the packages they held for her, so they couldn’t help her across the puddle.
The younger monk noticed the woman, said nothing, and walked by. The older monk quickly picked her up and put her on his back, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other side. She didn’t thank the older monk, she just shoved him out of the way and departed.
As they continued on their way, the young monk was brooding and preoccupied. After several hours, unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. “That woman back there was very selfish and rude, but you picked her up on your back and carried her! Then she didn’t even thank you!”
“I set the woman down hours ago,” the older monk replied. “Why are you still carrying her?”
Let go of the past, embrace the future and enjoy the rewards.
After being a small business owner for 25 years, I sold my business to concentrate on my true passion: people.
I want to help you find your WHY and your HOW, and to make the necessary changes to improve your business and personal life. Taking control of where you are, but more importantly where you want to be, is what it is all about.
You need to work out what is stopping you, and what changes need to be made or improved on, so you can move forward with gusto and determination. Go get the life you want, it's ready for you!
I’d love to hear from you. x TM.
