☺ Release the Past to Live in the Present ☺

Don't Neglect the Past. 

We can use the past absolutely to our advantage, however we often misuse it completely by either getting stuck in it, or by trying to neglect it. 

The past holds many answers to our current behaviours, attitudes, and habits. Neglecting the past won't help you move forwards. If you want to let the past go then you need to go back and come to terms with it. If you can do this then you will actually be able to let it go and live in the present moment and be able to direct your future. Otherwise, the past will keep coming up with a negative attitude to rain on your parade. You don't want to live in the past, you want to live in the present, and if you want to do that then you need to let go of whatever haunts you from that past. If you don't find resolution with the past then you will, at an unaware level, still be living in it because you allow it to shape your every day attitudes and actions.

Bad habits and attitudes are usually a result of your previous experiences, from behaviours or attitudes you've picked up along your journey. Do yourself a favour and the next time you turn to a bad habit or have a negative attitude towards something or someone, try to consciously be aware of the trigger. If that isn't clear to you right away then just continue to pay attention and eventually you'll be able to connect the dots. Once you've figured out why and where these things come from then you'll be able to address them appropriately and change your attitude and actions. 

Understand that the past isn't a bad thing. Those experiences needed to happen in order for you to be who you are today. However, those bad attitudes learned from our pasts are often deeply routed. We were either too young or in a negative situation so were unable to see those experiences as lessons to build character and strength and instead allow them to consume us in the present. But you have the ability Now, with a new awareness, to revisit those experiences and draw out the positive so that you can come to peace with it and move forwards. And this is the point that I am going to recommend getting help from a good councillor, therapist, psychiatrist, or whatever feels in line with you. But I highly recommend seeking out this help outside of yourself. It's not a shameful, embarrassing, or self-defeating thing to seek out help from another. People are all around us to help us along our journeys, we cannot, and are not meant to, go on this journey completely alone. Be willing to seek out help so that you may move forward, learn something deeper about yourself, and live a better present and future. 

I finally gained the courage to call a councillor a few years ago. Best choice I could have made. I was very resistant to it, as most are, but finally hit a breaking point and decided I had nothing to lose. By going, I was able to heal and move forwards and come to terms with my past with peace, understanding, wisdom, and forgiveness. I truly believe if I hadn't got that help then I wouldn't be where I am today. My councillor recommended doing what's called an "EMDR" session with me after a few visits and this in particular was what helped me accept the past and see it with new eyes and a new attitude. Most of my problems, like most people, stemmed from things that had happened in my past, and therefor it was essential for me to revisit those experiences in order to gain a new perspective and to gain control of my life today. If I hadn't gone then my life today could still be a mess and run amuck because I wouldn't have an understanding of those negative emotions and reactions and been able to release them. 

Again, the past is not a bad thing, those experiences were not bad experiences, they were building blocks for our lives today. And perhaps you're wondering; what if you don't like your life today? Then you have the power to change that too. In fact, chances are, if you haven't come to peace with your past yet, that's exactly why you're unable to enjoy your life today. But it doesn't have to be that way. It doesn't have to be that way at all. You have the power already inside yourself to seek out the lessons and the positive, to see those building blocks and rebuild a happy and positive life. You can build the life you've always dream of. But you must release the past. And releasing the past doesn't happen by neglecting it. It happens by coming to terms with it, from making peace with it. And then it can lay peacefully where it belongs, in the past, while your life today blossoms into a more wonderful direction, enriched by those experiences but gets to be where it should be--in the present. The past will always be there, in memory and as a source that shaped you today. What you walk away with is up to you. You get to choose. But you must address the issues instead of sweeping them under the carpet and ignoring them, because they will always, and most likely consistently, remain to harass you until you do.  

You won't change anything in your life or about yourself until you seek out that change within yourself. Everyone has things from their past that effect them today. If people didn't then you wouldn't have grown, learned, evolved, or changed. It's your choice to use the past as a constructive tool to enrich your life today instead of getting trapped in those past experiences. Come to peace with your past, let it go, apply the lessons you learned today, and live in the moment so that you can love and enjoy it all. 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

☺ Say Hello to the New Year right! ☺

It's that time of year again, time to set those New Year's resolutions right? 

Saying Goodbye to the past year may be a good thing, but I think many of us do it the wrong way. Somehow we believe that when the clock rings in the new year, the past year somehow just vanishes and we never have to look back at it again. It doesn't work that way. And if you're wondering why you can feel so passionately that it will but then act surprised when the new year comes in and in that very first day you may already be feeling like nothing has changed… well it's because nothing has changed. 

Life is life. You choose what it is going to be at any moment. It doesn't magically change the first day of the new year or because you think you're armed with all these resolutions. Resolutions don't usually work because, one, they come from a place of neglect to the past, and two, a lack of consciousness as to where the things you want to change came from in the first place. Usually bad habits are a result of unhappiness within yourself, and so committing yourself with resolutions to change those bad habits aren't going to be successful unless you first address yourself, your emotions, feelings, and attitude.  

Making Resolutions Successful.

Any change has to come from within yourself, by getting in touch with yourself so that you can make those positive changes. Again, it's not as easy as flipping a switch on New Year's day. Change takes time. Change also takes patience, commitment, perseverance, and love and respect for yourself. What will help your resolutions become reality will be the right attitude and addressing the things you need to address in order for those resolutions to be a success. 

The Right Attitude: If you read ReLove Plan.et at all then you know already the emphasis I place on having a Positive Mental Attitude. I kid you not when I say this is the key to achieving just about anything you want in life. Being Positive means focussing on the good side of things instead of constantly dwelling on the bad. It also means finding the positive in any situation, no matter how negative it may seem. There is Always a Positive side! Always always! You just have to choose to see it. So in order for your Resolutions to be a success, arm yourself with a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA). It will probably take you some time to always seek out the positive so just be patient, keep at it, and give yourself a reminder to seek out the positive. 

Don't be so hard on yourself! Things don't change immediately, these things take time. This isn't because of you, it's simply because change takes time. You are reprogramming old thoughts, habits, and attitudes and these things take time to rebuild. Be realistic; you are going to stumble, fail, make mistakes, feel down, and get emotional. But what you do need to understand is that all of this is okay! Being human and experiencing life requires these things in order for us to grow, learn, and become better people. The part that will make those lows easier will be understanding that they are going to happen but not to hold onto them. Let it go. Feel, experience, learn, and let it go. You will feel fantastic again in no time so long as you allow the low moments to pass by, instead of dwelling on them and beating yourself up over them for happening. Be kind to yourself and be patient. At the end of every day, Just do your Best.  

Address the Source! Bad habits and attitudes come from somewhere! They do, they do! Find out why you feel a certain way, and where the attitude or bad habit comes from. Try to be conscious of when you turn to those bad habits, or feel negatively. I say it time and time again, if you need to see a councillor, do it! In fact, if anything, that should be your New Year's Resolution; see a councillor (or therapist, psychiatrist, etc.)! You won't change anything until you come to peace with your past, and we often need help to do this. It's not a shameful, embarrassing, or self-defeating thing to seek out help from another. And so I will say again, if you want to change anything start by changing yourself. You can't ignore your past or where feelings or habits come from, because they will rear their heads even if you choose to ignore them. Find the source so that you can actually change and live the life you want to live. 

I think at the end of it all, I just want to say that Change comes from Within Yourself. New Year's Day is just a day like any other (usually with a whole lot of partying and excitement around it of course). Changing yourself and making your life awesome has nothing to do with a "New Year." If you want your life to be awesome and amazing, then instead of making New Year's "Resolutions," start by making changes within yourself. Once you do that then those resolutions will probably come about on their own anyway. After all, what more does anyone truly want in life other than to be Happy? 

Happy New Year none-the-less! If nothing else, mark the New Year as the beginning of a change in You. Make it the beginning of excitement and amazement with changes and progress that comes from within. Because everything you need to live the life you want and to be the person you want to be already exist within yourself. 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.