Don’t Let Your Past Hold you Back: Purging Your Mind for Good
We all have those persistent plot lines that we’ve held on to from years or even decades before.
Typically, they are stories that make us into a victim, where someone has done us wrong and we’re able to place the blame on someone else, another situation, event, job, or even where you live.
How many people do you know who can still recall some of the terrible things that happened to them years ago, in their childhood even?
I know a woman in her mid-sixties who can still remember names that the “mean kids” called her in elementary school. That’s a long time to carry around that memory!
And what did it do for her? How did that memory serve her higher purpose? Maybe she used it as motivation to rise above, become more confident in herself and not let the “naysayers” get to her.
But, I wonder if she remembers any of the compliments her grade school friends paid her.
Now those would have been memories to hold on to.
Yet, for some reason, our minds tend to store “junk.” We hold on to all the bad things that people have said or done to us through the years. Over and over in our heads, we replay tape loops of life’s injustices: justifying our hurt, anger, or bitterness.
Why? Why hold on to all of that?
Take a moment to make a list of these memories.
Can you come up with at least one reason for keeping yourself in a state of feeling bad, resentful, angry or depressed? What is the payoff?
Now, take your list and LET IT GO. Throw it away! Release the junk! Make room for more joy!
Inherently, you know these plot lines, these stories and “injustices” don’t serve you. Your greatest self, your higher purpose, the reason you’re on this planet are not served by the baggage of your past.
Instead, can you think about the good things? A compliment, a kind word, encouragement…
Has anyone ever paid you a compliment that you didn’t accept? For example, has someone told you your new dress is very becoming and you responded by saying, “Oh, this old thing?”
Maybe at work someone complimented you on a job well done and you responded, “It was nothing.”
Why is it often difficult to accept a compliment?
Why can’t we be grateful and just say “thank you”? When we decline a compliment, we think we are being humble, but the message it delivers to our subconscious is altogether different.
Rejection of a compliment sends a message to the brain that we are not pretty, or smart, or hard working! This response also makes the person who paid us the compliment feel bad because we didn’t accept it.
When we are grateful and accept the kind words someone has given us, it makes us feel good inside. That compliment is stored in our “hard drive,” and continues to deliver positive energy.
Wouldn’t you rather store those memories? Wouldn’t you rather hold on to those stories and plot lines than the ones that make you feel belittled, insecure or like you’re not enough?
I have a challenge for you, and it’s twofold.
Have you experienced a memory-purge recently? How has it helped you? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!