Pain, past, and present. Believe it or not, they are usually connected – but they don’t have to be. You can work on yourself to begin letting go of the past and make it a lesson learned, not some weight you carry on your back with you forever.

What do you have to do to live a better, lighter life? It’s simple. focus on letting go of the past. Yes, it’s simple – but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Don’t worry, though! We’ll teach you how to do it.

Before you begin, you need to believe you want to do it. You’re not going to achieve anything unless you decide it’s time to let go. Ask yourself if you’re ready to do it. So, are you? Great! Let’s get started!

WHY IS LETTING GO OF THE PAST NECESSARY?

Every single human being on this green Earth lives one day at a time. We all have, give or take, 24 hours every day. How you spend your time is one of the most important decisions you can make.

Are you going to spend that time having fun, working on your goals, and sharing with the people you love?

Or, perhaps, you prefer to waste your time by sitting down, binging tv,  feeling sad, and thinking about what happened years ago.

It's nonsense to spend so much time dwelling on things you cannot change anymore. So, why do we insist on doing it?

Because we don’t know any better! We all have to realize how vital letting go is. That’s the key! You need to understand that you need to let go if you want to live in the present.

Otherwise, you’ll forever be reminiscing, living in the past, and all the time you wasted, gone forever.

FOUR WAYS TO START LETTING GO OF THE PAST

1. Stop running away from your problems

Running away means something is wrong. Or worse, it means you’re not ready to deal with what’s wrong. Either way, that method doesn’t work – and you need to stop using it right now.

When you escape from your problems, you’re letting them dictate your life. An unresolved trauma, for example, will determine what you do in the future by living in the past. You simply can’t let the past have so much power over you!

Believe me, when I tell you, running away is the worst thing you can’t do. The longer you run, the worst it’ll get. It’s like trying to outrun a snowball. It gets bigger and bigger until you can’t run anymore – and then the snowball runs over you.

If you’re running, stop. Deal with your problem. You can only get closure if you deal with the issue at hand. The past can’t be an open wound.

2. Sit down and have a good, honest talk with yourself 

Try to figure out why it is so hard to let go of the past. Is it an emotional problem? Are you hurt? Do you feel something you don’t quite understand yet? There’s only one way to figure out what’s going on: talking. Talking is more challenging than we think. We're not referring to small talk or chit-chatting about your favorite movie. We're talking about having a real discussion—the kind of conversation that makes you feel naked and exposed.

Because of that, you might want to start talking about your issues on your own. Break down what happened to you. Then, try to understand why you’re living in the past. When you feel ready, try to talk to your friends and family about it. Different perspectives always help.

Little by little and word by word, you may feel like a weight is even released from your shoulders. You’re slowly leaving the past behind.

3. Don’t kick yourself while you’re down 

If you came all this way, you’re interested in letting go of the past. You’re probably investing time and effort in doing it. That alone means you’re doing the right thing. So give yourself some credit, You can pat yourself on the back over that!

The only way to mentally open your hand (you know, letting go) is to be more forgiving of yourself. Yes, you failed. Or you came short. Or didn’t get what you wanted. Keep in mind it happens to the best of us – and that includes me and you.

Think of it this way: if what’s so hard to let go of happened to a friend instead of you, wouldn’t you be kinder to his or her situation? Exactly. So stop beating yourself up so hard.

4. If everything else fails, get some help

Superman is a comic book character. You’re not made of steel. 

We all need help from time to time. Sometimes, we can depend on our friends and family. And that’s great! For more severe issues, there are trained professionals who can assist you. Find a community or professional that can help you.

Here at Live Ur Purpose, we have a community helping each other to grow and leave our past behind, so we can live our best lives in the present.