How to Leave the Past in the Past

A person's past can rise up and hurt him at any point in the future. Do what you can to prevent that from happening by dropping off the past at the nearest trash can. Don't go back rummaging through the "trash" later to retrieve it. Leave it where it belongs. Here are a few ideas about how to leave the past in the past.

Instructions

• 1

  Trust a gut feeling. Your "gut" is your subconscious telling you something. If you saw signs in a bad relationship and dismissed them or overlooked several shortcomings even though you knew it wasn't right, listen. It is never too late to listen to the giant within that is guiding your life. There is a right and a wrong and you already know it. Trust yourself.

• 2

  Forgive, even if it wasn't your fault. Forgive yourself first for getting into the mess. Forgive the other person for all their shortcomings. This doesn't mean that you are going to go right back and let it happen again. Forgive and move on.

• 3

  Discontinue contact with anyone from your negative past. This may involve moving away, switching jobs or going to a new social circle. The past can't bite you if you have created a separation between you and those that reinforce the past. This can be one of the hardest things to do, but in the long run there is a better life beyond the past and those things that remind you of it.

• 4

  Shoot down every thought that rises up. If you are driving to work and the past rises up and starts talking to you say, "I am not listening," and turn the music up loud so you can't hear the thought. Find things to do that silence the past. Eventually the past will be the past and nothing more.

• 5

  Stay busy. Get a gym membership. Find a new favorite place to hang out. Go back to school. Get a new hobby that doesn't allow you time to think about the past.

• 6

  Get moving on with your life. Do not dwell in the past. The past does not get you to the future. It pulls you back and debilitates you.