Is Your Past Hindering Your Future

The only time our future is determined by our past is when we allow it to be.

I read a quote a while back that reminded me that each of us get to choose our level of happiness and healthiness as we move through life.  It is: “make peace with your past so it does not interfere with your future.” 

As I read this, thoughts of past events, heartaches, disappointments, failed relationships and confrontations between family members stirred in my thoughts.  Most of these have all been dealt with and laid to rest.  Their memories live on while the pain has been squelched through forgiveness and communication.

What if these things had not been dealt with?  Even having half of them not dealt with will have a significant pull on us emotionally and mentally.  The more common term for this: skeletons in the closet.

Our subconscious mind holds onto past events, emotions and feelings long after they have happened.  The conscious mind however (the part of the mind we are well aware of)

helps us focus on our day-to-day tasks and doing what needs to be done.  Therefore it is all too easy to forget the power of the subconscious and the strongholds it can keep.

Even the slightest hurts and disappointments are kept and not forgotten by the subconscious.  Over the years it is easy to see how a long compiled list can be kept and not dealt with in the subconscious.  What does this mean for us?

Think of the subconscious like a filter.  It filters events from the time we are born.  What happens is the filter tends to become plugged and can no longer do its job.  Think of it like an air filter on a car.  When the filter is no longer capable of doing its job, the rest of the car’s engine starts to suffer and becomes less efficient.  The same principal holds true in you and I.

Dealing with all the hurts of our past, no matter how small, ensures us of a healthy mental and emotional future.  It is the unseen things that are holding us back. Healthy discussions with a counselor, Pastor or a friend with whom you have deep trust, who has the ability to genuinely listen, are all great resources to help you.

We cannot change the past but we can surely deal with it and put it to rest, no matter how little or significant those events might be. Don’t think this does not matter, it matters greatly!

Deal with your past.  Put it to rest.  Forgive and let go.  This does not mean we forget, it does mean we refuse to let the past hold us back from a future filled with peace and happiness.

Have a great Friday everyone, be blessed.