10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Live in the Past

This is the time for you to realize that living in the past is a failing strategy and it's time to look to the future (and at the very least, enjoy the present). Here are 10 reasons why:

1. Past things don’t work in the modern world. You don’t use a pager anymore because you have a cell phone. There were times in history when one had to get on a horse and ride it for miles to speak with a friend or family member living in another city. You don’t do this since you can easily make a phone call or send an e-mail. A past relationship is like a pager: you can still use it, but there are plenty of more convenient ways to go.

2. Past is abstract. The only thing you can do with it is remember. Even though many people claim that they can remember times when they were hurt for longer than they can remember happy things that happened to them, it is usually the other way around. This is why we often can’t let the past go, as we recall it as something flawless and perfect compared to the present. For instance, when you were a child, you had no responsibilities and few duties, but you could not go wherever you wanted and live your life the way you would enjoy it. Now you probably remember only your carefree happy childhood and forget how you wanted to grow up faster.

3. Past wounds only hurt if you allow them to hurt. If you had a headache yesterday, it doesn’t hurt today. It can only bother you if you recall how much you suffered from it. But instead of focusing on past hurt, why not enjoy the things today that you couldn't enjoy yesterday due to that headache?

4. Life is movement; past is stillness. Imagine that your life is a marathon. Your goal is not to stay on the starting line, but to run forward. If everyone else begins running and you are standing still, you will never win the marathon. Start running, as there are so many great things you may encounter on the way.

5. The past is decomposing you. It is like a corpse of a dear person: you hate to let the loved one go, but there is no way you can keep the body in your house for years. If you hold on to it, it will smell bad and finally poison you with nitrites from the dead matter. Therefore, bury your past and clean your inner house from its harmful bacteria.

6. "Past you" has nothing to do with "present you." Whatever happened before to the "past you" won’t be the same if it happens to the "present you." Remember crying over a broken toy that you loved as a child? You won’t cry about it now, as you don’t play with toys anymore. It works for past relationships as well. Something that made you happy a year ago may not be enough now, as you are a different person, and you are setting up new goals for your future.

7. Past is a good thing to use for growth, not destruction. Take a sober look at it: what lesson did it teach you? How did it change you? If you happen to be in the same situation in the future, how would you react? It is even more important to realize that your past has made you the way you are now - strong and grown-up - and to be grateful for it.

8. Past is defective, as it can’t change or develop. You don’t want to cling to something that is defective, do you? You have an advantage: you can change, so you should bounce back and do so.

9. Don’t lose your new life because you are unable to continue the old one. While thinking about past, you are not planning your future and not enjoying your present. It is not worth it. No matter how marvelous things were in the past, you are the master of your fortune, and it’s up to you to build it. It is so exciting to find out what happens next, so don’t waste your time thinking about “what may have happened if.”

10. Past in your mind is like a bird in a cage. It is unnatural to keep it there. You may have fun with it for a while, but there will always be a moment when you’ll have to set it free. The earlier you let the bird fly, the sooner you will hear its happy chirping and the better and easier you will feel.
10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Live in the Past
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